藏身
cáng shēn · HSK 7
to hide
🫣 cáng shēn = hide + body — you stash your whole body away
藏 (cáng) means to hide or conceal, 身 (shēn) means body. Together: hiding your body, going into hiding. Think of tucking yourself entirely out of sight, every limb accounted for.
藏 — grass radical 艹 + 臧 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The grass radical 艹 on top suggests plants or vegetation used for concealment, while 臧 below provides the sound. Originally meant to hide or conceal something in the grass, later extended to mean 'store' or 'collect,' and when read 'zàng' it means a treasury or storehouse.
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.