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稍息 (shào xī) — (military command) At ease!

Definition

A military drill command, shouted by an instructor to tell soldiers to relax their stance. It pairs with 立正 ('Attention') as the two most basic commands in a formation drill.

interjection
(military command) At ease!

Examples

  • ：“稍息！”
    Jiào guān dà shēng hǎn: "shào xī!"
    The instructor shouted loudly: 'At ease!'
  • 稍息，。
    Tīng dào shào xī de kǒu lìng hòu, shì bīng men fàng sōng le shēn tǐ.
    After hearing the command 'At ease', the soldiers relaxed their bodies.
  • 稍息。
    shào xī Hé lì zhèng shì zuì jī běn de duì liè kǒu lìng.
    'At ease' and 'Attention' are the most basic drill commands.

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.

稍shāoslightly
息xīrest

稍 means slightly and 息 means rest, so 稍息 asks for a brief rest.

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
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
肖
肖xiào稍shāo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

稍 combines 禾 and 肖: 禾 is the part tied to the character's meaning, and 肖 is the part tied to its sound.

Open 稍 →

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

In 息, 自 is nose and 心 is heart, showing breath or life passing through one's nose.

Open 息 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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