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闲事 (xián shì) — other people's business; matter that does not concern one; unimportant matter

Definition

闲事 (xián shì) refers to matters that don't concern you — 'other people's business' or 'trivial affairs.' It appears almost always in the set phrase 管闲事 ('meddle in others' affairs').

noun
other people's businessmatter that does not concern oneunimportant matter
Measure word · 件

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā zǒng ài guǎn xián shì, ràng rén hěn fán.
    He always likes to meddle in other people's business, which is annoying.
  • 闲事。
    Zhè xiē xián shì nǐ jiù bú yòng cāo xīn le.
    You don't need to worry about these unimportant matters.
  • ，。
    Bié lǐ tā, tā jiù shì xǐ huan guǎn xián shì.
    Don't mind him, he just likes to meddle.

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.

闲xiánidle
事shìmatter

闲 suggests idle or irrelevant, and 事 is the matter, giving “other people’s business”.

Characters in this word

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.

Open 闲 →

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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