体格

たいかく · taikaku · JLPT N1 · noun

physique

🦴 体 (body) + 格 (frame, structure) = the body's frame, i.e. physique

体 means body and 格 means frame or structure, so 体格 is the build of the body. The same 格 appears in 性格 (character), the frame of one's nature.

格 — wood 木 + 各 (each, phonetic)
格 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 木 (wood) gives the meaning, originally referring to a wooden frame, lattice, or crossbar, while 各 supplies the sound. From 'frame/grid' the meaning extended to 'pattern, standard, style' and the modern senses of 'square (in a grid)' and 'character/disposition'.

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