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享有 (xiǎng yǒu) — to enjoy (rights, privileges, etc.), to be entitled to (formal)

Definition

Formal verb meaning to 'enjoy' or 'be entitled to' (rights, benefits, status). Unlike 享受, it is not about personal pleasure — it denotes possession of a right or privilege.

verb
to enjoy (rights, privileges, etc.)to be entitled to (formal)

Examples

  • 享有。
    Měi gè gōng mín dōu xiǎng yǒu jī běn quán lì.
    Every citizen enjoys basic rights.
  • 享有。
    Tā men xiǎng yǒu miǎn fèi yī liáo fú wù.
    They enjoy free medical services.
  • 享有。
    Tuì xiū hòu tā xiǎng yǒu yōu hòu yǎng lǎo jīn.
    After retirement, she enjoys a generous pension.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

享xiǎngenjoy
有yǒuhave

享 means enjoy and 有 means have, so together they mean to enjoy having rights or privileges.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

享 was a drawing of an ancestral shrine.

Open 享 →

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Rights & Citizenship

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