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Kotomora

身

somebody, person, one's station in life

JLPTN2StatusJōyō · grade 3FrequencyTop 500Strokes7

Readings

On'yomi

  • シン

Kun'yomi

  • み

Meaning

身 centers on the physical self: a person's body, their individual existence, and by extension their social position or station in life.

Most common words using 身

24 of 552
  • 自身じしん
    N3

    (one's) self; oneself; yourself; himself; herself

  • 身み
    N3

    one's body; one's person

  • 身体しんたい
    N3

    body; physical system; (the) person

  • 出身しゅっしん
    N3

    one's origin (e.g. city, country, parentage, school)

  • 中身なかみ
    N2

    contents; interior; filling

  • 身長しんちょう
    N4

    height (of a person); stature

  • 全身ぜんしん
    N2

    whole (body); full-length (e.g. portrait)

  • 変身へんしん
    N1

    metamorphosis; disguise; transformation; shapeshifting; morphing

  • 身分みぶん
    N2

    (social) standing; status; position; rank

  • 独身どくしん
    N4

    unmarried; single

  • 身近みぢか
    N2

    near oneself; close to one; familiar

  • 下半身かはんしん
    N1

    lower half of the body; nether parts

  • 身内みうち
    N1

    relatives; one's family

  • 刺身さしみ
    N3

    sashimi (raw sliced fish, shellfish or crustaceans)

  • 上半身じょうはんしん
    N1

    upper half of the body; upper body

  • 心身しんしん
    N2

    mind and body

  • 終身しゅうしん

    lifelong; lifetime; for life; life

  • 単身たんしん
    N1

    alone; by oneself; unaccompanied; unaided; single-handed; without one's family

  • 身元みもと
    N1

    (one's) identity; background; upbringing; birth (and parentage)

  • 分身ぶんしん

    other self; alter ego; part of oneself (in someone or something else); representation of oneself

  • 等身とうしん

    body proportions

  • 身柄みがら
    N1

    one's person

  • 身動きみうごき
    N1

    movement (of one's body); moving about; stirring

  • 身代わりみがわり

    substitution (for someone else); substitute; stand-in; scapegoat; sacrifice

Explore all words using 身 →

Study

Etymology

身 is a pictograph of a human body, originally showing a side view of a person with a protruding belly. The modern form retains the general body shape.

Meaning mnemonic

The shape of 身 looks like a standing person with a torso and legs. See it as a simple outline of a body, representing a person and their physical self.

Reading mnemonic

For シン, imagine a person's body as a shiny, new machine: shin -> シン, and the body is the vehicle for one's station in life.