Meaning of 身材
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- stature
- build (height and weight)
- figure
How to use 身材
身材 describes the overall shape and size of someone's body, and it is very common when talking about appearance or fitness. It often pairs with adjectives like 好 (hǎo), 高大 (gāodà) or 苗条 (miáotiao). Example: 她身材很好。(Tā shēncái hěn hǎo.) She has a great figure.
身 (shēn) means body and 材 (cái) means material, like timber. Your 身材 is the "body material" you are built from: your height, shape and figure.
Common mistake: Learners often use 身材 when they mean health, but health is 身体 (shēntǐ). Say 他身体很好 (Tā shēntǐ hěn hǎo) for "He is healthy", and 他身材很好 only for "He is in good shape" or "He has a nice build".
身材 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
身 shēn · body · 7 strokes
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材 cái · timber · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 身材.
| 身上 | shēnshang | on the body; at hand |
| 身体 | shēntǐ | the body; one's health |
| 身边 | shēnbiān | at one's side; on hand |
| 全身 | quánshēn | the whole body; (typography) em |
| 身份证 | shēnfènzhèng | identity card; ID |
| 自身 | zìshēn | itself; oneself |
| 教材 | jiàocái | teaching material |
| 身份 | shēnfèn | identity; aspect of one's identity (e.g. mayor, father, permanent resident); role; capacit |
| 材料 | cáiliào | (raw) material; data |
| 转身 | zhuǎnshēn | (of a person) to turn round; to face about |
| 健身 | jiànshēn | to exercise; to keep fit |
| 身高 | shēngāo | (a person's) height |
Questions about 身材
What does 身材 mean?
身材 (shēncái) means "stature; build (height and weight)" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 身材?
身材 is made of 2 characters: 身 (7 strokes), 材 (7 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 身材 an HSK word?
Yes. 身材 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say someone keeps in shape in Chinese?
You can say 保持身材 (bǎochí shēncái), meaning to keep one's figure. For example, 她每天跑步保持身材。(Tā měitiān pǎobù bǎochí shēncái.) She runs every day to stay in shape.
Is it polite to comment on someone's 身材?
Saying someone's 身材 is good is usually taken as a compliment, especially among friends. Negative comments like 身材不好 can sound rude, so it is best to avoid them with people you do not know well.