享福 (xiǎng fú) — to enjoy a life of ease and comfort, to live comfortably

Definition

A set phrase (离合词) meaning to enjoy a life of ease and comfort, often after hardship or in old age. Split as 享…福 (e.g., 享享福, 享了几年福).

verb
to enjoy a life of ease and comfort, to live comfortably

Examples

  • ,享福。
    Tuì xiū hòu, tā yì zhí zài xiāng xia xiǎng fú.
    After retirement, he has been enjoying a comfortable life in the countryside.
  • ,。
    Lǎo rén xīn kǔ le yí bèi zi, xiàn zài gāi xiǎng xiǎng fú le.
    The old person worked hard all their life; now it's time to enjoy some comfort.
  • 。
    Tā chū guó hòu xiǎng le jǐ nián fú.
    After going abroad, he enjoyed a few years of ease.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

福fúhappiness

享 is to enjoy, and 福 is happiness or good fortune.

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
畐
畐fú福fú
Same sound today

福 combines 示 and 畐, with 示 carrying the meaning and 畐 the sound.

Open 福 →

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