虚度 (xū dù) — to waste time (idly, fruitlessly; literary/refl…

Definition

A literary verb meaning 'to waste (time)' — typically used reflectively to regret squandered years or 光阴, not for casual idle moments.

verb

to waste time (idly, fruitlessly; literary/reflective)

虚度。
Tā hòu huǐ nián qīng shí xū dù le guāng yīn.
He regrets wasting his youth.
虚度。
Bú yào zài dà hǎo nián huá lǐ xū dù dù rì.
Don't waste your best years idling away.
虚度。
Zhè jǐ nián de shí guāng jiù zhè yàng bèi xū dù le.
These past few years have just been wasted like that.

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.

虚xūin vain

虚 means in vain or empty, and 度 means spend; together they describe passing time idly.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 虛; 虚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

虍

虍hū虛xū

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 虛 pairs the upper 虍, which gives the sound, with a lower part shaped like 丘, 'hill'; the simplified 虚 is a later shorthand.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

石

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

度 has 又 (hand) and a changed form of 石; 石 gives a related sound, and the hand is tied to using the hand as a reference for measurement.

Appears in