[Vocabulary] Bodies vs. Remains

[jiaruchan]

Do we call the bodies of recently deceased people remains?

For example, the Chinese English news media at one time called the corpses pulled from the rubble of the quake-stricken zone remains instead of bodies. Is there any difference between the two.

Thank you.

 

[Barb_D]

Bodies tend to be in once piece. Remains are not always.

 

[jiaruchan]

Bodies tend to be in once piece. Remains are not always.

Thank you.

Yes, that is why I did not feel very comfortable when hearing the report using remains to describe the bodies.

It is not very likely people killed in an earthquake appear to end up in several pieces when found in such a short period.

 

[Barb_D]

But it doesn't necessarily mean that the bodies were in bad shape.

Some people just don't like the word "bodies." They may feel that "remains" has less emotion connected to it or is somehow less gruesome.

Also, if a person had died a long time ago, there may be only a skeleton left - you would talk about the skeleton as "remains" instead of as a "body."

 

[bhaisahab]

A dead body is the remains of a person. The person is no longer there, the body remains.