běn shēn
in itself/oneself
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这件事情本身就很复杂。
Zhè jiàn shì qíng běn shēn jiù hěn fù zá.
This matter itself is very complicated.
他本身就是一个很有才华的人。
Tā běn shēn jiù shì yī gè hěn yǒu cái huá de rén.
He himself is a very talented person.
这本书本身就很有趣。
Zhè běn shū běn shēn jiù hěn yǒu qù.
This book itself is very interesting.
表面 (biǎomiàn)
surface
外表 (wàibiǎo)
appearance
The Chinese word 本身 (běnshēn) is composed of two characters: 本 (běn) and 身 (shēn). The character 本 originally meant "root" or "origin", and later extended to mean "self" or "essence". The character 身 originally meant "body", and later extended to mean "person" or "self". When combined, the two characters 本身 literally mean "the root of the body" or "the essence of the person". In modern Chinese, 本身 is used to refer to "oneself" or "in itself". For example, the sentence 我本身很健康 (wǒ běnshēn hěn jiànkāng) means "I am healthy myself". The sentence 这本书本身很有意思 (zhè běn shū běnshēn hěn yǒuyìsi) means "This book is very interesting in itself".
