养神 (yǎng shén) — to rest and restore one's energy (often by closing the eyes and relaxing); (Daoism) to cultivate one's spiritual essence

Definition

养神 (yǎng shén) is a verb-object phrase meaning to rest the mind and refresh one's energy, usually by sitting quietly or closing the eyes. It is more specific than 休息 (xiūxi, 'to rest' in general) and is not used for sleep.

verb
to rest and restore one's energy (often by closing the eyes and relaxing)(Daoism) to cultivate one's spiritual essence

Examples

  • 。
    Tā bì shàng yǎn jing yǎng le yí xià shén.
    He closed his eyes and rested for a moment.
  • ，养神。
    Xià bān hòu, tā cháng cháng jìng zuò yǎng shén.
    After work, he often sits quietly to rest.
  • 。
    Tā yǎng le yí xià wǔ de shén.
    She rested for the whole afternoon.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

养yǎngnourish
神shénspirit

养 means to nourish or restore, and 神 means spirit, so the word means to nurture one's spirit.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 養; 养 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 養 uses 羊 as a sound part and 食 as a meaning part.

Open 养 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shìgod; deity
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn神shén
Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

Open 神 →

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