HSK 6 · Function Words

本身 běnshēn “itself” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 本身 means

  1. itself
  2. in itself
  3. per se

How to say 本身

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale本běn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale身shēn1st tone, high and level

本身 in a sentence

  1. 设计本身有问题。

    Shèjì běnshēn yǒu wèntí.

    The design itself is flawed.

    Sentence #6728899 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  2. 这个想法本身还可以。

    Zhè ge xiǎngfǎ běnshēn hái kěyǐ.

    The idea itself isn’t bad.

    Sentence #13890324 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 金钱本身并不是幸福的来源。

    Jīnqián běnshēn bìng bú shì xìngfú de láiyuán.

    Money in itself isn’t a source of happiness.

    Sentence #13795584 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 本身 is built

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.

The character 本 (běn) with each of its parts in a different colour
本běnroot; stem
  • 木tree · mù
  • 一one · yī

Memory aidA tree 木 with a mark 一 on its roots: root, origin.

The character 身 (shēn) drawn as one shape
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.

How to write 本身

本 5 strokes · 身 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

本身 (běnshēn) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 本身 (běnshēn). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 本身

Words with 本

本běn · measure word for books本子běnzi · book课本kèběn · textbook笔记本bǐjìběn · notebook本来běnlái · original根本gēnběn · (not) at all本科běnkē · undergraduate course本领běnlǐng · skill本质běnzhì · essence基本jīběn · basic

Words with 身

身体shēntǐ · body身边shēnbiān · at one’s side身高shēngāo · (a person’s) height身份shēnfèn · identity身材shēncái · stature健身jiànshēn · to work out随身suíshēn · to carry with you出身chūshēn · family background终身zhōngshēn · lifelong浑身húnshēn · all over (the body)

More words: Function Words & Grammar

总之zǒngzhī · in a word作为zuòwéi · as (in the role of)甭béng · don’t本人běnrén · I便于biànyú · easy to并非bìngfēi · to not be不得已bùdéyǐ · to have no choice不妨bùfáng · might as well

FAQs

本身 (běnshēn) means “itself” or “in itself”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it běnshēn: běn with a 3rd tone, then shēn with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 本身 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type benshen with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 本身 from the suggestions. Typing benshen into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
本身 is an HSK 6 word in the 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.