得闲 (dé xián) — to have free time, to be at leisure

Definition

得闲 (déxián) means 'to be at leisure' and is most common in polite written invitations, like ∼请来一叙. More formal than saying you're free in casual speech.

verb
to have free timeto be at leisure

Examples

  • 得闲。
    Nǐ dé xián de shí hou kě yǐ lái wǒ jiā lǐ zuò zuò.
    When you have free time, you can come over to my place for a visit.
  • ，。
    Wǒ měi tiān máng dé bù dé liǎo, nán dé bàn rì xián.
    I'm terribly busy every day; it's hard to get even half a day off.
  • 得闲。
    dé xián Qǐng lái yí xù.
    Please come over for a chat at your leisure.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

得déhave/gain
闲xiánleisure

“得” as have/gain and “闲” as leisure combine to mean having free time.

Characters in this word

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

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閒; 闲 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 閒 puts 月 (moon) inside 門 (door), as if moonlight peeks through a door; this picture gives the idea of a gap or space. The simplified 闲 is a later abbreviation.

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