安歇 (ān xiē) — to retire for the night, to go to bed

Definition

Literary/formal way to say 'go to bed / retire for the night,' mostly in written or older-style speech. More everyday is 睡觉 (shuìjiào).

verb
to retire for the nightto go to bed

Examples

  • ，安歇。
    Shí hou bù zǎo le, wǒ gāi ān xiē le.
    It's getting late; I should retire for the night.
  • 安歇。
    Tā měi tiān wǎn shàng shí diǎn jiù ān xiē.
    He goes to bed at ten every evening.
  • 安歇。
    Lǎo rén hěn zǎo jiù ān xiē le.
    The old man retired for the night very early.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

安ānsettle
歇xiērest

安 means settle and 歇 means rest, so together they say to settle down for rest or go to bed.

Characters in this word

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ安ān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Open 安 →

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
欠欠qiàn
Sound part声符shēngfú
曷
曷hé歇xiē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

歇 uses 曷 for its sound hé and 欠 for its meaning.

Open 歇 →

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