ti (体) — body, substance, to experience in Chinese

simplified

traditional

tǐ

body · physical form · substance · system · the whole · to experience

HSK 1 笔画 7 (简) · 23 (繁) 部首亻 (person) 声调第三声 (dipping) all ti readings →

~7 min read

笔顺 bǐshùn · Stroke order

部首 radical (亻) 部件 component (rest of character) 书写 your drawing

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字源 zìyuán Etymology & Structure

字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight

体 tǐ = 亻 (rén, person) + 本 (běn, root, base). The simplified character reads almost as a definition: the body is a person's root, the physical base on which a self stands. The traditional form 體 tells a different story, built from 骨 (gǔ, bone) and 豊 (lǐ): the body seen as the framework of bones. When the script was simplified, the spare 亻 + 本 form was adopted in place of the heavy 體, and it happens to carry its own clear logic.

From the base meaning of body, three families of sense branch out:

1. Body, physical form. The literal flesh: 身体 shēntǐ (body, health), 体育 tǐyù (physical education), 体重 tǐzhòng (body weight).
2. Substance, system, form. A body in the abstract, a thing with its own integrated shape: 具体 jùtǐ (concrete), 整体 zhěngtǐ (the whole), 体制 tǐzhì (a system).
3. To experience, to embody. To take a thing into the body and know it from within: 体验 tǐyàn (to experience), 体会 tǐhuì (to grasp by living through), 体贴 tǐtiē (considerate, feeling for another).

The thread is the body as the ground of knowing. Whether the body is one's own flesh, the structured whole of a system, or the felt experience of a thing, 体 names what is grasped not in the abstract but in the substance, lived rather than merely thought.

构词 gòucí Word-Formation Patterns

构词规律 gòucí guīlǜ · From Flesh to Form 体 as physical body → 身体 body · 体育 sport · 体重 weight · 体温 temperature
体 as substance / system / whole → 具体 concrete · 整体 the whole · 体制 system · 集体 collective
体 as to experience / embody → 体验 experience · 体会 grasp by living · 体贴 considerate · 体谅 understanding

身体 shēntǐ Body & Health

身体 shēntǐ body; physical health

N 名词 míngcí

身 shēn (the trunk, the self) + 体 tǐ (body). The whole physical body, and by extension one's state of health. The common greeting 身体好吗？ asks "how is your health?" rather than anything about the body literally.

他的身体很健康。

Tā de shēntǐ hěn jiànkāng.

He is in very good health.

多运动对身体好。

Duō yùndòng duì shēntǐ hǎo.

Exercising more is good for the body.

体育 tǐyù physical education; sports

N 名词 míngcí

体 tǐ (body) + 育 yù (to nurture, to educate). The cultivation of the body: school PE, and sport in general. 体育馆 tǐyùguǎn is a gymnasium; 体育课 is a PE class.

我最喜欢的科目是体育。

Wǒ zuì xǐhuan de kēmù shì tǐyù.

My favorite subject is PE.

体重 tǐzhòng body weight

N 名词 míngcí

体 tǐ (body) + 重 zhòng (weight, heavy). One's body weight. 量体重 liáng tǐzhòng is to weigh oneself.

医生量了我的体重。

Yīshēng liáng le wǒ de tǐzhòng.

The doctor measured my weight.

整体 zhěngtǐ Substance, Whole & System

整体 zhěngtǐ the whole; the entirety; as a whole

N 名词 míngcí

整 zhěng (whole, complete) + 体 tǐ (body). A thing taken as one integrated body rather than as separate parts. Its standing contrast is 部分 bùfen, a part: 整体利益 "the interests of the whole."

我们要从整体上考虑这个问题。

Wǒmen yào cóng zhěngtǐ shàng kǎolǜ zhège wèntí.

We need to consider this problem as a whole.

具体 jùtǐ concrete; specific; particular

ADJ 形容词 xíngróngcí

具 jù (to possess, to furnish) + 体 tǐ (body, form). Having a definite body, hence concrete and specific as against vague or abstract. Its opposite is 抽象 chōuxiàng (abstract): 具体的例子 "a concrete example."

请说得具体一点。

Qǐng shuō de jùtǐ yìdiǎn.

Please be a bit more specific.

集体 jítǐ collective; group; the community

N 名词 míngcí

集 jí (to gather) + 体 tǐ (body). A gathered body of people acting as one: 集体活动 "a group activity," 集体主义 "collectivism." Set against the individual, 个人 gèrén.

这是集体的决定。

Zhè shì jítǐ de juédìng.

This is a collective decision.

体会 tǐhuì To Experience & Embody

语义洞见 yǔyì dòngjiàn · Semantic Insight

The most distinctive thing 体 does is turn the body into a verb of knowing. To 体会 or 体验 something is to understand it not by being told but by living through it, taking it into the body. This is why a teacher will say 你要自己去体会, "you have to grasp it for yourself," when a thing cannot be handed over in words. The same root gives 体贴 tǐtiē and 体谅 tǐliàng: to feel another person's situation in your own body, and so to be considerate and understanding.

The contrast worth holding is 体会 against 体验. 体验 tǐyàn is to undergo an experience, to pass through it: 体验生活 "to experience life," 体验一下 "give it a try." 体会 tǐhuì is what you take away from the undergoing, the insight that settles afterward: 我体会到了他的难处 "I came to understand his difficulty." One is the living; the other is the understanding it leaves behind.

体验 tǐyàn to experience; to live through; an experience

V/N 动名词 dòngmíngcí

体 tǐ (body) + 验 yàn (to test, to verify). To know something by passing through it in person: 体验生活 "to experience real life." As a noun, the experience itself: 难忘的体验 "an unforgettable experience."

我想体验一下当地的生活。

Wǒ xiǎng tǐyàn yíxià dāngdì de shēnghuó.

I want to experience the local way of life.

体会 tǐhuì to grasp through experience; the understanding so gained

V/N 动名词 dòngmíngcí

体 tǐ (body) + 会 huì (to understand). To come to understand a thing by living it, and the insight that results. 深刻的体会 "a deep understanding (won from experience)."

这件事让我有了很深的体会。

Zhè jiàn shì ràng wǒ yǒu le hěn shēn de tǐhuì.

This experience gave me a deep understanding.

辨析 biànxī · 体验 vs. 体会体验 is the undergoing, passing through an experience in person (体验生活). 体会 is the understanding that the undergoing leaves behind (深刻的体会). You 体验 a thing while it happens; you 体会 what it taught you afterward.

体贴 tǐtiē considerate; thoughtful; attentive to others' needs

ADJ 形容词 xíngróngcí

体 tǐ (to feel in the body) + 贴 tiē (to stick close). To feel another's situation closely and act with care: 体贴的丈夫 "a considerate husband." It is warmth shown through attention to small needs.

她对人很体贴。

Tā duì rén hěn tǐtiē.

She is very considerate toward people.

成语 chéngyǔ Idioms & Set Phrases

五体投地 wǔ tǐ tóu dì to throw all five parts of the body to the ground: utter, prostrate admiration Lit: five-limbs-cast-to-earth. The five are the head, two hands, and two knees, the Buddhist full prostration. To admire someone 佩服得五体投地 is to be floored by them, won over completely.

体无完肤 tǐ wú wán fū the body without a patch of whole skin: wounded all over, or torn apart in criticism Lit: body-without-intact-skin. Literally beaten until no skin is unbroken; figuratively, an argument or piece of work refuted or criticized so thoroughly that nothing is left standing.

身体力行 shēn tǐ lì xíng to practice with one's own body and full strength: to lead by personal example Lit: body-experience-strenuously-do. To carry out in person what one advocates rather than merely preaching it. The mark of someone who lives their principles.

体大思精 tǐ dà sī jīng grand in structure and fine in thought: a work both vast and meticulous Lit: body-large-thought-fine. Praise for a major work, a book or system, whose overall framework is grand while its detailed reasoning is precise. Here 体 is the structure or framework of the whole.

记忆法 jìyìfǎ · Master Retention Image

Read the simplified glyph as its own little sentence: a person, 亻, standing beside a root, 本. The body is the root of the person, the physical base everything else rests on. Hold that and the first family of words is obvious: the flesh and its care (身体, 体育, 体重).

Now let the body turn abstract. A system, a collective, a concrete example all have their own "body," an integrated form you can grasp as a whole (整体, 具体, 集体). And when you take a thing right into your own body and know it from the inside, 体 becomes a verb: to live through (体验), to understand by living (体会), to feel for another (体贴). In every case 体 is knowing held in the substance, not floating free of it.