noun / suffix HSK 3
Traditional 體
body · form · style · system
Meaning
体 refers to a physical body, form, or structural system. It can mean the human body, but also extends to abstract systems, writing styles, or types of organization. As a suffix, it often indicates a type or form of something.
Usage
体 is extremely common both as a standalone noun meaning 'body' and as a suffix in compound words. It appears in words related to physical bodies (身体), grammatical forms (过去时体), writing styles (字体), and organizational systems (体制). It's more formal than everyday speech about one's body, where 身体 is preferred.
Examples
- 01他的身体很健康。.His body is very healthy.
- 02这种字体看起来很舒服。.This font looks very comfortable to read.
Measure words
- 个一个体系
Common collocations
- 身体body, physical health
- 字体font, typeface
- 体育physical education, sports
- 体会to experience, to realize
Origin
The traditional form 體 is a semantic-phonetic compound with 骨 (bone) as the semantic component and 豊 as the phonetic. The simplified form 体 uses 本 (origin, root) to suggest the fundamental structure of the body.