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闲坐 (xián zuò) — to sit idly; to sit leisurely

Definition

闲坐 (xián zuò) means to sit around with no particular purpose — a leisurely, unhurried state, often paired with drinking tea, chatting, or enjoying the setting. It has a relaxed, literary flavor rather than describing lazy inactivity.

verb
to sit idlyto sit leisurely

Examples

  • ，闲坐。
    Tā xià wǔ méi shì, jiù zài yuàn zi lǐ xián zuò.
    He had nothing to do in the afternoon, so he just sat idly in the yard.
  • 闲坐。
    Lǎo rén men xǐ huan zài shù yīn xià xián zuò liáo tiān.
    The elderly like to sit leisurely under the shade of trees and chat.
  • 闲坐。
    Zhōu mò wǒ cháng cháng zài jiā xián zuò hē chá.
    On weekends I often sit idly at home drinking tea.

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
坐zuòsit

闲 gives the manner of 坐: sitting in idle leisure.

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.

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

Open 坐 →
Appears in
Daily Routine

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