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闲杂 (xián zá) — (attr.) without fixed duties; non-essential; referring to people not belonging to a specific organization or task

Definition

Used almost only as an attributive modifier before nouns like 人员, 车辆, to mean 'unauthorized / non-essential'. It marks people or things that don't belong to a specific group or task.

adjective
(attr.) without fixed dutiesnon-essentialreferring to people not belonging to a specific organization or task

Examples

  • 闲杂。
    Jìn zhǐ xián zá rén yuán jìn rù shī gōng xiàn chǎng.
    No unauthorized personnel may enter the construction site.
  • ，闲杂。
    Huì yì qī jiān, xián zá rén děng bù dé rù nèi.
    During the meeting, no outsiders are allowed in.
  • ，闲杂。
    Dà lóu mén kǒu tiē le gào shì, jìn zhǐ xián zá chē liàng tíng fàng.
    The building entrance has a notice banning unauthorized vehicles from parking.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

闲xiánidle
杂zámiscellaneous

闲 suggests idle or unoccupied, while 杂 suggests miscellaneous, together describing people without fixed duties.

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 →

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 雜; 杂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
集
集jí雜zá
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 雜 pairs 衣 (clothes) with 集 as a sound part, originally referring to mixed colours, perhaps in dyed clothes; the simplified 杂 is a later shorthand.

Open 杂 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsPeople (General)

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