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寻欢作乐 (xún huān zuò lè) — to indulge in sensual pleasures; to live a life of dissipation (idiom, often with a negative connotation)

Definition

A strongly negative idiom meaning to abandon oneself to pleasure and dissipation. Implies moral failure, not just casual fun — usually contrasts with duty or serious pursuits.

idiom
to indulge in sensual pleasuresto live a life of dissipation (idiom, often with a negative connotation)

Examples

  • 寻欢作乐，。
    Tā měi tiān zhī xǐ huan xún huān zuò lè, duì gōng zuò yì diǎn dōu bú rèn zhēn.
    He only likes to indulge in pleasure every day and is not serious about work at all.
  • 寻欢作乐，。
    Tā men chén mí yú xún huān zuò lè, huāng fèi le xué yè.
    They were addicted to pleasure-seeking and neglected their studies.
  • 寻欢作乐，。
    Gǔ dài guì zú cháng yǐ xún huān zuò lè wèi lè, què bù zhī bǎi xìng jí kǔ.
    Ancient aristocrats often took pleasure in dissipation, unaware of the people's suffering.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

寻 is formed from 又 (hand) and 寸 (hand).

Open 寻 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 歡; 欢 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
欠欠qiàn
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn歡huān
Same sound today

The traditional form 歡 uses 雚 for the sound and 欠 for the meaning; the simplified 欢 is a later shorthand, so its parts do not carry that history.

Open 欢 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
乍
乍zhà作zuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

Open 作 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樂; 乐 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 樂, 絲 (string) with 木 (wood) shows strings on a piece of wood, a musical instrument; the simplified 乐 is a later shorthand.

Open 乐 →
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