身分

See also: 身份

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 身分 – see 身份 (“status; identity; honourable position; dignity”). (This term is a variant form of 身份).

Japanese

Kanji in this term
身	分
み Grade: 3	ぶん Grade: 2
kun'yomi	on'yomi

Etymology 1

Appears to be a shift from older shinbun reading, replacing the on'yomi of shin for 身 with the kun'yomi of mi. First attested in 1688.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mʲibɯ̟̃ɴ]
• (Tokyo) みぶん [míꜜbùǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])

Noun

身(み)分(ぶん) • (mibun) 

1. [from 1688] social position, social status, social standing

   いいご身分(みぶん)

   ii go-mibun

   good social standing

2. [from 1809] one's circumstances, one's condition
3. [from 1886] one's legal status, one's identity

Derived terms

• 身分相応(みぶんそうおう) (mibun sōō, “suitable, expected, within one's means or status”)
• 身分不相応(みぶんふそうおう) (mibun fusōō, “out of character, audacious, beyond one's means or status”)
• 身分証明書(みぶんしょうめいしょ) (mibun shōmeisho, “identification card”)

Etymology 2

Borrowing from Middle Chinese 身分 (MC syin pjun|bjunH), modern Chinese spelling 身份 (shēnfèn). First attested in Japanese in 984. Superseded by the mibun reading starting from the late 1600s. The shinbun reading is included in a dictionary published in 1874, but it is not included in most modern references.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɕĩmbɯ̟̃ɴ]

Noun

身分(しんぶん) • (shinbun) 

1. [late 1800s–???] (archaic, possibly obsolete) social status, social standing
2. [984–???] (archaic, possibly obsolete) what makes up the body
   1. the body parts
   2. the food, drink, clothes, bedding, etc. of one's life that help nourish the body

References

• “身分”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[2] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026