Taxonomy of meanings for 形:　　

Additional information about 形

說文解字:

Criteria
• LIMB
  

  1. The current word for a limb is zhī 肢.

  2. Tǐ 體 refers (often collectively) to the limbs of the body, and it must be noted that the head counts as one tǐ 體 in the xíng 形 "body", but there is also a closely related usage where the word refers quite generally to the parts of the body as in bǎi tǐ 百體.

• SEEM
  

  1. Sì 似 "apparently" always refers quite generally and colourlessly to things that are apparently only and not really what they seem to be, but the word also means "as if".

  [GENERAL]

  2. Míng 名 "in name and public appearance (only)" (ant. shí 實 "in reality") is the most current and refers to a mere superficial facade created by public behaviour.

  [DELIBERATE]

  3. Xíng 形 "shape" is occasionally used figuratively to refer to things being so only in physical appearance but not in underlying reality.

  [EXTERNAL], [SUBJECTIVE]

  4. Ruò 若 is sometimes used in ways that tempt us to subsume it into this synonym group, and one is tempted to translate the troublesome usage by the suitably vague English "as it were". This still needs detailed investigation.

  [METALINGUISTIC], [SUBJECTIVE]

• SHAPE
  

  1. The most current general word describing the physical shape of something is xíng 形.

  2. Mào 貌 and the much rarer and more abstract biǎo 表 are terms referring to mere external physical outline as opposed to inner reality.

  3. Zhuàng 狀 is the dynamic physical manifestation of something.

  4. Guān 觀 is the visual aspect of something, including its coloration.

  5. Xiàng 相 is the significant external form (including coloration) as indicative of what is behind it.

  6. Xiàng 象 "abstract pattern made by things" is both aesthetic and metaphysical in force and construes appearance as something symbolic of and structurally similar to an underlying reality.

  7. Wén 文 refers to dignified, fine pattern a shape makes.

• VISIBLE
  

  1. The current general word for visibility is xiàn 見 / 現 (ant. yǐn 隱 "remain hidden").

  2. Xíng 形 (ant. cáng 藏 "be hidden") refers to taking shape or taking proper shape.

  3. Xiào 效 (ant. huái 懷 "keep hidden within oneself") refers to somethings abstract becoming clearly manifest.

  4. Xiǎn 顯 (ant. yōu 幽 "be in the dark and inaccessible to clear inspection") refers to something becoming prominently visible to all.

  5. Zhāng 彰 (ant. yì 抑 "suppress wide knowledge of") refers to something becoming prominently visible to everyone in all its splendour or importance.

• BODY
  

  [[CONGERIES]]

  1. The general word for the body versus the heart and soul is xíng 形 (ant. xīn 心 ) but note that this word also applies generally to non-human physical shape..

  2. Qū 軀 "physical frame" refers to body as seen from the outside, objectively, not as part of the person, and as constituted by flesh and bones.

  3. Shēn 身 (which also means "person") specifically refers to the main trunk of the body typically excluding head, arms and legs.

  4. Tǐ 體 refers to body as constituted by its various parts, in particular the limbs, and when it refers to the body as a whole the reference is to the posture and carriage of the body.

  5. Zhī 肢 refers specifically to the limbs and cannot be used to refer to other parts of the body at all. See LIMB

  6. Gōng 躬 is an elevated word which can be used to refer to a person as a whole, but also specifically to the body. See PERSON

  7. Xíng tǐ 形體 is the standard current binome for the physical body of both men and animals, including the body after death, among other things as the container of vital energy qì 氣.

  NB: Shī 尸 refers specifically to the dead body. See CORPSE

• SHADOW
  

  1. The shaped form of shadow is currently yǐng 影 / 景 (ant. xíng 形 "original physical object of which there is a shadow").

• BEAUTIFUL
  

  [ABSOLUTE/GRADED]

  [ACOUSTIC/VISUAL]

  [ARTIFICIAL/NATURAL]

  [[COMMON/RARE]]

  [ELEVATED/VULGAR]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [HUMAN/NON-HUMAN]

  [POETIC/PROSAIC]

  1. The general word is měi 美 "handsome and admirable" (ant. è 惡 "ugly") which refers to anything concrete or abstract which is attractive or handsome in a dignified way, and the word often retains its primary culinary sense of "tasty".

  [GENERAL], [GRADED]; [[COMMON]]

  2. Lì 麗 (ant. sù 素 "unaodorned") is often restricted to physical objects, prototypically to clothes, and emphasises their balanced symmetric beauty, occasionally also - by analogy - the well-aligned symmetric beauty of mountains.

  [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

  3. Wén 文 (ant. zhì 質 "merely material") emphasises cultivated external as well as internal elegance as well as traditionalism.

  [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

  4. Yǎ 雅 (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") emphasises primarily external elevated elegance.

  [ACOUSTIC!], [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED+], [NON-HUMAN]

  5. Hǎo 好 "comely, handsome" (ant. chǒu 醜 "ugly") refers indiscriminately to men and women, but the word is sometimes more general and even abstract in application and refers to attractive words or attractive moral qualities.

  [HUMAN!], [NATURAL], [VISUAL]

  6. Xiù 秀 "of vigorous and imposing beauty" focusses on flourishing and flamboyant beauty in analogy with that of flowers.

  [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [NON-HUMAN], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

  7. Huá 華 "of striking and colourful beauty" (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") focusses on flourishing and flamboyant superficial or only apparent beauty, on the analogy analogy with that of flowers.

  [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], NON-HUMAN], [SUPERFICIAL], [VISUAL]

  8. Zhuàng 壯 "stately" (ant. ruò 弱 "weak and unsightly") is virile beauty associated with strength and vigour. See STRONG

  [NATURAL], [MARGINAL], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

  9. Jiā 佳 "of outstanding beauty" (NB: liè 劣 "unremarkable" is the ant. of jiā 佳 "outstanding", and not in the meaning of "outstandingly beautiful") emphasises comparative beauty compared to others in the same group.

  [GRADED], [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [POETIC]

  10. Dū 都 "urbane and exquisitely beautiful" (ant. bì 鄙 "rustic and inelegant") is a highly poetic word that can only be used in elevated prose.

  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

  11. Yán 妍 "attractive and exquisite (of humans as well as human products)" (ant. chì 蚩 "unattractive") refers to elaborate beauty. See SEXY.

  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [HUMAN], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

  12. Xiū 脩 / 修 "refined moral beauty" refers to moral as well as physical beauty, thus coming close the Greek kalokagathia, but never approaching the latter in importance as a cultural keyword.

  <div>[ELEVATED], [ARTIFICIAL]; [[RARE]]</div><div><br></div><div>吳蓬，東方審美詞彙集萃，上海文藝出版社，2002 lists the following rough definitions of a variety of terms of aesthetic appreciation by the artist and scholar Wu Peng. Many of these terms express conventional appreciative flattery only. This list does provide one not particularly well-known artist's subjective readings of some basic terms of traditional Chinese aesthetic approbation.</div><div>勃：富有生机之突起。<br>苍：浓的，毛的，老练的。<br>沉：沉着不浮，有重量感。<br>冲：调成和淡之意向。<br>饬：整顿。<br>粗：大而不笨者。<br>淳：清，往往易薄，然而淳是清中滋润之厚。<br>醇：与淳略同，这醇是提炼后的滋润之厚。<br>绰：与"约"字合用，即舒而不纵之意。<br>澹：平静而有幽淡之趣。<br>淡：与浓艳相对。<br>宕：放荡不拘。<br>跌：往往与"宕"字合用，即是起伏明显之状。<br>端：方正而不出偏，有稳实感。<br>敦：很实在的，结实的厚。<br>繁：众而密，有生气。<br>方：与平正同义。<br>丰：饱满而充足。<br>风：审美中之"风"指的是一种气韵格调。<br>飞：大幅度的流动。<br>刚：属于阳性的，有正力的，与柔软相对。</div><div>高：俯视一切的、超然得不一般。<br>工：规矩，不潦草。<br>孤：自我独立。<br>古：旧气，更有历史的抗怀千载之迹象。<br>骨：内在的架子。<br>犷：是跟"雄悍"接近，在粗中发展开来。<br>瑰：不单调的美。<br>乖：不和顺。<br>憨：近于拙朴而敦实。<br>酣：厚润四溢。<br>豪：激动向上之貌，有气魄。<br>宏：大而有气度。<br>厚：有沉积的饱和。<br>华：明亮而艳丽。<br>环：长久圆融之境。<br>荒：与"枯简"接近，不修饰。<br>豁：与开朗接近，然比开朗明显。<br>恢：宽广有余。<br>浑：团然一气之象，有朦胧感。<br>简：经过一番整修的减少。<br>娇：美得可爱。<br>警：审美中用此警字，往往指敏锐、颖达。<br></div><div>劲：能察觉的力。<br>精：很到位。<br>隽：精致而具内涵之美。<br>娟：秀而婉丽。<br>崛：高起而突出。<br>俊：人材杰曲之美。<br>峻：山高而陡。在书画中是浓而锋利之用笔。<br>空：有灵气之空白。<br>枯：干而毛，生的萎缩，然亦是力的显露。<br>宽：大度而畅朗。<br>旷：广阔而空灵。<br>辣：是枯毛爽直的老笔触。<br>朗：明亮而豁然。<br>琅：圆而光润。<br>伦：是同类之意，带有文明意念。<br>冷：跟"淡"与"静”接近，与浓烈相对。<br>炼：精到而有功力。<br>淋：与"漓”往往合用，是无拘束的洒落。<br>流：明显的动感。<br>迈：阔而放的超势。<br>莽：宽广而繁密的，朴直奔放的。<br>袤：与"古"字合用，即悠长久远之趣。<br>茂：有生气的繁密。<br>媚：柔美之趣。<br>宓：安而静。<br>明：清晰有亮度。<br>凝：浓重而不流动。<br>懦：毫无火气之柔软。<br>平：一般的，接近于稳。<br>朴：原始状态，形象较准。<br>嫖：与"姚"字合用，即动疾之状，而有气势。<br>奇：不一般。<br>气：生发的，迎面直扑而来的感觉。<br>清：是混的相对。其间透出一股朗气。<br>峭：山之直而险，在书画中是露锋的侧锋用笔，有明显露<br>尖状态。文章中之峭，是意气直逼。<br>遒：婉转有致，内力强劲。<br>虬：与遒类似，但动感较强，弯曲而有力度。<br>意：诚实谨慎。<br>儒：代表文人之书卷气。<br>洒：散落无拘束。<br>赡：富有与丰实。若与"疏”、"逸”组合即成"澹”或"安"之义。</div><div>骚：审美中之骚字，可引伸为风骚至风流感。<br>韶：美丽有光泽。<br>涩：在不爽快的进程中，流露出内力之美。<br>深：不是浮面的。<br>神：精与气合。高端的。<br>生：不成熟，但比成熟有味。<br>肆：任意放纵。<br>松：松是灵活自然，是一切技巧之本要。<br>瘦：与粗笨相对，在审美中的"瘦"，是指细长而精练。<br>疏：一种稀少秀朗之美。<br>肃：有立即静穆下来之势。<br>率：与潦草随便有别，爽快而直接。<br>邃：深远而悠久。<br>阅：通达之意。<br>给：与"宕"合用，是安详舒放之趣。<br>天:很自然，一片天箱之"天"。<br>恬：安静而坦然。<br>挺：直而有生气。<br>婉：柔和而曲折。<br>温：是一种暖调与缓和的综合。</div><div>巍：往往与"峨"合用，是高大厚实之趣。<br>洗：与"炼”合用，即是"精炼"之意，凡物之洁出于洗。<br>犀：与"利"字合用，即坚利。<br>熙：光明，和乐。<br>细：指细而不纤。<br>娴：文静而雅致。<br>闲：一种高雅的自由。<br>萧：疏少有致。<br>潇：散朗而润泽。<br>馨：很醇厚的香气。<br>篁："篁古”是悠远辽阔之意。<br>雄：强大，有力度，有霸气。<br>秀：灵巧的，有生气的，美好的显露。<br>虚：表象空，但并非真空。<br>雅：文气而不俗。<br>妍：鲜美而柔性。<br>严：认真，不马虎。<br>淹：一种浸沉与精深明达之境。<br>野：超脱、不规范。<br>冶：经过一番精致修饰。<br>逸：悠闲的起伏。</div><div>意：精神倾向。<br>莹：透明而幽亮。<br>雍：往往与“容"字合用，有和顺之貌。<br>幽：静而深。<br>腴：肥润而饱和。<br>郁：厚积而有生气。<br>纤：与"迥"字合用，即弯环回绕之趣。<br>遹：与"瑰"字合用，即纤迥美丽之趣。<br>渊：往往与"懿"合用，是深润而悠美之趣。<br>圆：接近于饱满润滑。<br>蕴：与"藉"合用，即内涵丰富。<br>韵：一种余味不尽之趣。<br>恣：放纵的，无拘束的。<br>滋：湿润感。<br>自：出于本性的流露。<br>质：本体的，实在的。<br>纵：放逸无拘之状。<br>拙：接近朴，形不准。<br>庄：端正之貌。<br>卓：与“荤"合用，是突出明显之状。<br></div><div><br></div><br>

• MIND
  

  1. The general word for the mental sphere of man is xīn 心 "HEART> mind" (ant. xíng 形 "physical shape, body", tǐ 體 "limbs, body").

  2. Zhì 志 (ant. shēn 身 "body") never refers to the faculty of the will, but is the agency through which man has his highest aspirations in life.

  3. Qì 氣 can be used to refer specifically to the life-sustaining vital biological energies contained in the body as opposed to the phsyical make-up through bones, flesh, sinews, etc, of the body itself.

• SOUL
  

  1. Shén 神 is primarily a subtle physical substance which gives man his spiritual dimension (ant. xíng 形 "body")) and the body xíngtǐ 形體 is the abode shè 舍 of the soul..

  2. Líng 靈 (ant. qū 軀 "body") is a spiritual part of man which links him to the higher religious realm of the spirits.

  3. Jīng 精 "spiritual subtle substance" is the seminal supremely subtle material substance that gives man his spiritual energies.

  4. Hún 魂 "male soul which returns to Heaven at death" and pò 魄 "female soul which returns to Earth at death" (all ant. xíng 形 "body") inhabit man in the general mode of spiritual possession.

• SITUATION
  

  1. The current general term for a constellation or situation of any kind is shì 勢.

  2. Zhuàng 狀 and xíng 形 can be used to emphasise the external appearance created by a situation.

  3. Shì 事 focusses on the factual sequence of events that create a shì 勢.

  4. Dì 地 sometimes comes to be used for a stage of a development.

• APPEARANCE
  

  [[CURRENT/RARE]]

  [DELIBERATE/INVOLUNTARY]

  [DYNAMIC/STATIC]

  [OUTLINE/SURFACE]

  [SIGNIFICANT/SUPERFICIAL]

  1. Mào 貌 (ant. xīn 心 "real inner feelings") emphasises the merely external as less than indicative of what is inside, and this is the most general word.

  [GENERAL], [STATIC], [SUPERFICIAL]

  2. Sè 色 (ant. xīn 心 "real inner feelings") is external appearance, particular facial expression, expressive of or productive of feeling. Thus hǎo sè 好色 is the kind of appearance which, being attractive, causes men to feel attracted. Hào sè 好色 "love beautiful women" involves a different meaning of the word: "female beauty; sex".

  [SIGNIFICANT+], [VOLUNTARY!]

  3. Zhuàng 狀 "external shape" and xíng 形 "physical form" (ant. zhì 質 "real inner substance") emphasise three-dimensional appearance as such. See SHAPE

  [INVOLUNTARY], [STATIC], [SUPERFICIAL]

  4. Zī 姿 is rare and emphasises the dynamic gestural aspect of one's external appearance.

  [DYNAMIC], [DELIBERATE]; [[RARE]]

  5. Tài 態 views external appearance as a typically deliberate manifestation of an attitude or stance.

  [DELIBERATE], [DYNAMIC], [SIGNIFICANT]

  6. Róng 容 refers to the contours of a person, expecially the contours of his or her face. See FACE.

  [DYNAMIC], [OUTLINE]

  7. Wài 外 (ant. nèi 內 "inner reality") refers colourlessly and neutrally to outer apperance as opposed to inner reality.

  [OUTLINE], [STATIC]

  8. Xiàng 相 refers to the outward appearance of something as profoundly indicative of inward qualities (as in physiognomy).

  [INVOLUNTARY], [SIGNIFICANT], [STATIC]

Word relations
• Result: (SHAPE)地/EARTH The current general term for the earth or land is dì 地 (ant. tiān 天"Heaven"). 1 Attribution
• Ant: (BODY)神/SOUL Shén 神 is primarily a subtle physical substance which gives man his spiritual dimension (ant. xíng 形 "body")), and the body xíngtǐ 形體 is the abode shè 舍 of the soul. 7 Attributions
• Object: (BODY)揜 / 掩 / 奄/COVER Yǎn 掩/揜 is an informal word which focusses on the deliberate act by a human, executed with his hand, which is designed to prevent something from being discovered or from getting in touch with other things. 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (BODY)身/PERSON Shēn 身 regularly refers to the embodied person, as something to be cultivated, and as something to be morally careful about, but the word is originally widely used to refer to the physical body as such being at times hard to distinguish from the figurative use discussed in this group. The word is very often reflexive. 6 Attributions
• Contrast: (SHAPE)成/COMPLETE The standard word for bringing anything to a successful conclusion is chéng 成. 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (DEPICT)象/SYMBOL The standard word for a symbolic representation of something is xiàng 象. This is a philosophical concept of considerable metaphysical depth. 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (BODY)身/SELF Shēn 身 typically refers to the subject in a contrastive way, and the word is often hard to distinguish from the nominal concept of a person. Adverbially, the word is different from PERSONALLY in that it does not connote distinction in the agent. 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (SHAPE)容/APPEARANCE Róng 容 refers to the contours of a person, expecially the contours of his or her face. See FACE. [DYNAMIC], [OUTLINE] 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (BODY)軀/BODY Qū 軀 "physical frame" refers to body as seen from the outside, objectively, not as part of the person, and as constituted by flesh and bones. 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (BODY)體/BODY Tǐ 體 refers to body as constituted by its various parts, in particular the limbs, and when it refers to the body as a whole the reference is to the posture and carriage of the body. 13 Attributions
• Assoc: (SHAPE)骸/BONE Hái 骸 refers to the set of bones that constutute the skeleton in a living or dead person, and the word is often used collectively to refer by synecdoche either to the living or to the dead body. [COLLECTIVE] 1 Attribution
• Oppos: (BODY)容/FACE Róng 容 refers especially to the lineaments and the outline of the face. 1 Attribution
• Oppos: (SHAPE)影 / 景/SHADOW The shaped form of shadow is currently yǐng 影 (ant. xíng 形 "original physical object of which there is a shadow") and the general area of shade is yīn 陰 (ant. guāng 光 "light"). 2 Attributions
• Oppos: (BODY)心/MIND The general word for the mental sphere of man is xīn 心 "HEART> mind" (ant. xíng 形 "physical shape, body", tǐ 體 "limbs, body"). 15 Attributions
• Oppos: (BODY)精/SOUL Jīng 精 "spiritual subtle substance" is the seminal supremely subtle material substance that gives man his spiritual energies. 1 Attribution