1.
life-size; life-sized; in the same dimensions as a real human body
Describes an object — most often a statue, doll, poster, or mannequin — that is made in the exact proportions and size of a real human. Literally 'in the size of one's (whole) body'.
等身大の人形。
A life-size doll.
店内に等身大の銅像が立っている。
A life-size bronze statue stands inside the shop.
駅前に設置された等身大のパネルと記念写真を撮る観光客でにぎわっていた。
The area in front of the station was crowded with tourists taking commemorative photos with the life-size panel set up there.
2.
true-to-life; realistic; unembellished
Figurative use: describes a portrayal or self-image that presents a person honestly, without exaggeration or idealization. Common in talking about fiction, memoirs, and public personas.
等身大の主人公。
A true-to-life protagonist.
彼女は等身大の自分を語った。
She spoke about herself as she really is.
この小説は著者が若い頃の等身大の姿をありのままに描いた作品である。
This novel is a work in which the author honestly portrays himself as he was in his youth, without any embellishment.
Compound of 等身 ('proportional to one's body') and 大 ('size'), plus the attributive particle の. Literally 'of a size equal to one's body', hence 'life-size'.
USAGE:
- Normally used attributively with の: 等身大の人形 ('life-size doll'). It is not naturally used as a predicate (✗ この人形は等身大だ is dispreferred; say の人形だ instead).
- Sense 2 is a productive metaphor meaning 'life-size' in the sense of 'undistorted by idealization'. Frequent in book reviews, interviews, and essays.
- 等身 alone is rarely used in modern Japanese outside this fixed form.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 等身大の人形: life-size doll
- 等身大の像: life-size statue
- 等身大のパネル: life-size cardboard cutout / standee
- 等身大の自分: one's true self, unembellished self
- 等身大の姿を描く: to portray (someone) as they really are
- 等身大のヒーロー: a hero the audience can relate to
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 実物大: life-size; actual size — used for any object (cars, animals, buildings), not limited to the human body.
- 原寸大: full-scale; original-size — emphasizes 'same dimensions as the original' and is common in printing, design, and architectural drawings.
- {ありのまま}: as it is; unembellished — close in spirit to sense 2, but an adverb/noun rather than a modifier.