Chinese word

转身

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhuǎn shēn

Meaning

  • verbturn around

Example

她喊他，他立刻转身看她。tā hǎn tā tā lì kè zhuǎn shēn kàn tā

When she called him, he immediately turned around to look at her.

Illustration for 转身 (turn around)

More examples

听到脚步声，他转身看到门口站着一个陌生人。tīng dào jiǎo bù shēng tā zhuǎn shēn kàn dào mén kǒu zhàn zhe yí gè mò shēng rén

When he heard footsteps, he turned around and saw a stranger standing at the door.

Core concept

A change of direction marked by the body: the front faces a new way, and the same shift can signal leaving one path for another.

Common phrases

  • 转身看她zhuǎn shēn kàn tā

    turn around to look at her

  • 转身离开zhuǎn shēn lí kāi

    turn around and walk away

  • 转身回头zhuǎn shēn huí tóu

    turn back

Similar words

转过身zhuǎn guò shēn: Rotating the body around to change from one facing direction to another.
转头zhuǎn tóu: Moving the head around to look elsewhere while the body stays in place.

Definition in Chinese

用身体转动改变朝向，表示把身体从一个方向转到另一个方向，常用于朝向别人或回头看。yòng shēn tǐ zhuǎn dòng gǎi biàn cháo xiàng biǎo shì bǎ shēn tǐ cóng yí gè fāng xiàng zhuǎn dào lìng yí gè fāng xiàng cháng yòng yú cháo xiàng bié rén huò huí tóu kàn

Word origin

转 (zhuǎn, "turn") + 身 (shēn, "body") literally joins turning with the body, creating a physical image that also supports the meaning of changing one's line of work.

Usage tips

  • In workplace conversations, the surrounding topic usually identifies the new field because the word itself describes the shift rather than naming a particular occupation.

Other meanings

  • turn awayverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word