健身

jiàn shēn · HSK 4

to keep fit

💪🏋️ 健身 = healthy + body

健 means healthy/strong and 身 means body, so 健身 literally builds out to making the body strong — the standard Chinese term for exercise, fitness, or working out.

身 — pictograph of a pregnant body
身 is a pictograph originally depicting a person with a swollen belly, representing a pregnant woman in profile. Over time the meaning broadened from 'pregnancy' or 'torso' to refer to the body in general, and by extension oneself or one's person.

More Chinese words · How Chinese works