体 is a Chinese character with 7 strokes, radical 亻 (person), HSK 2 on the new exam.
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
体 is the modern simplified form and has no oracle bone origin in this shape. The traditional character 體 is a phono-semantic compound with 骨 (bone) as semantic element and 豊 as phonetic, referring originally to the bones and body of a sacrificial offering. The simplified 体 is actually an old vulgar variant composed of 亻 (person) plus 本 (root, basis), reading as the fundamental part of a person.
Form evolution
The traditional 體 appears in seal and clerical script as a complex graph with the bone radical on the left and the ritual-vessel phonetic 豊 on the right. The simpler 体 existed as a folk variant for centuries before being adopted as the official simplification in the 1950s. The modern form preserves only seven strokes compared to the traditional twenty-three.
How the meaning evolved
The original sense was the physical body as a whole structure of bones and flesh, extended to any organised whole or form. From there it developed abstract meanings such as style, system, and substance, as in 文体 (literary style) and 体制 (system). The verb sense to experience personally or to empathise, as in 体会 and 体谅, comes from the idea of taking something into one's own body.
Cultural note
The pairing 身体 (body) uses 身 for the living person and 体 for the bodily form, and together they are the standard word for health or physical body. The character also anchors compounds like 体育 (physical education) and 集体 (collective), where the sense of an organised whole is dominant.
Mnemonic
A person's root — body, form
Decomposition
Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.
Basic info
| Stroke count | 7 strokes |
| Radical | 亻 (#9: person) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 2 |
| Frequency | #106 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 体
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 身体 | shēntǐ | body | HSK 2 |
| 体育 | tǐyù | Sports | HSK 3 |
| 体贴 | tǐtiē | Considerate | HSK 7-9 |
| 体验 | tǐyàn | experience | HSK 5 |
| 集体 | jítǐ | collective | HSK 5 |
| 具体 | jùtǐ | specific | HSK 5 |
| 媒体 | méitǐ | media | HSK 5 |
| 体会 | tǐhuì | Experience | HSK 5 |
| 体现 | tǐxiàn | Reflect | HSK 5 |
| 整体 | zhěngtǐ | Whole | HSK 5 |
| 大体 | dàtǐ | in general, on the whole | HSK 7-9 |
| 导体 | dǎotǐ | conductor (of electricity) | |
| 繁体 | fántǐ | traditional (Chinese characters) | |
| 个体 | gètǐ | individual | HSK 6 |
Related characters
On the new HSK 2 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
Appears in these articles
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.