枯坐 (kū zuò) — to sit idly and bored, to sit in dull inactivity

Definition

枯 (kū, 'withered/dry') intensifies 坐: sitting so long with nothing to do that you feel drained or bored. Often implies waiting helplessly or wasting time.

verb
to sit idly and boredto sit in dull inactivity

Examples

  • 枯坐，。
    Tā yí gè rén zài fáng jiān lǐ kū zuò, shén me yě bú zuò.
    He sat idly alone in the room, doing nothing.
  • 枯坐，。
    Yǔ qí zài zhè lǐ kū zuò, bù rú chū qù zǒu zǒu.
    Rather than sitting here bored, you might as well go out for a walk.
  • 枯坐，。
    Tā kū zuò le yí xià wǔ, děng zhe diàn huà.
    He sat idly all afternoon, waiting for a phone call.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

枯kūdry
坐zuòsit

枯 gives a dry, dull sense, and 坐 means sit, so 枯坐 is sitting in dull inactivity.

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ枯kū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

枯 pairs 木 (tree) with 古, which gives the sound.

Open 枯 →

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

The form 坐 combines 留, 'to stay', and 土, 'ground'.

Open 坐 →

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