| roots | pinyin, English |
| 开彡 | kāi open, shān bristle [jïan level] |
| synonyms | |
| 象 | xìang : image |
| 狀 | zhùang : form |
| shape | WO, GR, LG, EC |
| contrast | LY, FE, WC |
| off-set | L1 |
| set each other off | AH |
| exhibit | W1 |
| exhibitioned | PC |
| form | VM |
| correlations | RP |
| posited in their positions | C1 |
| no long without short | WW |
| measure | DH |
| delimit | CM |
| reveal | DL |
| test | AW |
| is tested by | AL |
| calibrate | DC |
| fashion out the one the figure of the other | JL |
Some choices seem unsupportable: 'exhibit' (W1), 'exhibitioned' (PC), reveal (DL), 'no ... without' (WW). But for sheer audacity, none can beat C1's 'posited ... position': if the attempt was to replicate the sound relation of 'xiang' and 'xing', the drawback is the resulting awkwardness in English.
| shape | all except: |
| contour | LY |
| form(less) | WO, AL, EC, VM, C1, DL, DC |
| Great form has no shape | WC |
AW also has 'zhùang 狀' for 'shape'.
| shape | all except: |
| form | LY, AL, VM, JL, CM, DL, DC |
| gives them physical form | WC |
| They are formed from matter | FE |
| Things take shape | L2 |
| Color and shape give them form | WW |
| Things are shaped according to their natures | C1 |
| Shaped them according to their kinds | AW |
'shape' and 'form', the most popular translations, are similar but not equivalent; there may be arguments made for each, but arguments would be strained to make for both. Yet only GR and LG stick to 'shape' and only VM to 'form'. Even harder to reconcile are the wealth of translations for 02:09. If you are going to choose something as exact as 'calibrate' (DC), you paint yourself into a corner at 41:22: 'the great image is without calibration'? 'without testing' (AW, AL)? 'without correlations' (RP)? 'without exhibition' (W1, PC)? 'without measure' (DH)? The DDJ warns against showing off, and that would apply to its translators. But perhaps another form of showing off is switching to 'formless' only for Chapter 41. We all know that 'shapeless dresses' are unflattering, so 'shape' is easier to swallow without the negative. But that doesn't make it wrong.
Of special note is WC's use of 'form' for 'xiang' and 'shape' for 'xing' in Chapter 41, then 'physical form' for 'xing' in Chapter 51, which is confusing on at least three levels. Similarly, WW has 'shape' (41) and 'form' (51) for 'xing', with the added oddity of 'color and shape' for 'wu'.