Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
身shēnbody
身 is a single shape of 7 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
Memory aidDrawn from a person with a large belly: the body.
边biānside
力strength · lì
辶walking form of 辵 · chuòMeaning part
Memory aidWalk 辶 with all your strength 力 to reach the edge: side, edge.
How to write 身边
身 7 strokes · 边 5 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 身边 (shēnbiān). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
身边 (shēnbiān) means “at one’s side” or “nearby”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word.
Say it shēnbiān: shēn with a 1st tone, then biān with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 身边 is written 身邊. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shenbian with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 身边 from the suggestions. Typing shenbian into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
身边 is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 3 word list. It is not on the older HSK 2.0 word lists.
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
身shēn1st tone, high and level
