身体
しんたい · shintai · JLPT N3 · noun
body
🧍 身体 = body + body: 身 (one's person) + 体 (physical form)
Both kanji mean body: 身 (shin) is one's own person or self, 体 (tai) is the physical frame. Doubling up gives the formal, clinical word for the body, as in 身体検査 (physical exam). Everyday speech uses 体 (karada) instead.
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.