无暇 (wú xiá) — have no time; be too busy to

Definition

A formal/literary phrase meaning 'have no time to, be too busy to' — used in writing more than everyday speech. Negate with 无须, not 不.

verb

have no timebe too busy to

Examples

，无暇。
Tā gōng zuò tài máng, wú xiá zhào gù jiā rén.
He's too busy with work to take care of his family.
无暇，。
Zuì jìn wǒ wú xiá qù lǚ xíng, yīn wèi yào zhǔn bèi kǎo shì.
I've been too busy to travel recently because I have to prepare for exams.
无暇，。
Tā wú xiá cān jiā jù huì, zhǐ hǎo dǎ diàn huà dào qiàn.
She had no time to attend the party, so she had to call and apologize.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

无wúnot have

暇xiáleisure

无 means not have and 暇 means leisure; not having leisure means being too busy.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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

日叚暇

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun

Sound part声符shēngfú

叚

叚jiǎ暇xiá

Same sound today

暇 is built from 日 (sun) and 叚, which gives the sound.

Open 暇 →

Appears in