浑身

hún shēn · HSK 7

from head to foot

🧍 浑 whole + 身 body = the whole body, all over from head to foot

浑 means whole or entire and 身 means body, so 浑身 literally stacks them into the whole body. It marks something felt across the entire body, head to foot, like aching 浑身 all over.

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.

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