身份证
shēn fèn zhèng · HSK 3
identity card
🪪 身 (body) + 份 (portion/status) + 证 (certificate) = body-status certificate
身 means body or self, 份 means share or status, and 证 means proof or certificate. Together they form the official document that certifies who you are — your ID card.
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.
份 — person 亻+ divide 分
份 combines the person radical 亻with 分 (fēn, 'divide'), which provides both meaning and sound. Originally a variant used for a person's share or portion, it came to mean a 'part,' 'share,' or 'copy' (as of a document), and now serves as a measure word for portions and copies.
证 — speech radical 讠 + 正 (correct/upright)
证 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The speech radical 讠 (言) signals it relates to words or testimony, while 正 (zhèng, 'upright/correct') gives the sound and hints at 'verifying truth.' Originally written 證, it meant to testify or prove; today it means evidence, certificate, or to prove.