倦意 (juàn yì) — weariness, tiredness, drowsiness (often in lite…

Definition

A literary/formal noun meaning 'weariness' or the feeling of drowsiness creeping in — usually used in writing, not everyday speech.

noun

wearinesstirednessdrowsiness (often in literary or formal contexts)

倦意。
Tā liǎn shàng dài zhe míng xiǎn de juàn yì.
His face showed obvious weariness.
，倦意。
Gōng zuò le yì zhěng tiān, juàn yì jiàn jiàn xí lái.
After working all day, tiredness gradually set in.
倦意，。
Tā suī rán miàn dài juàn yì, dàn hái shì jiān chí wán chéng le rèn wu.
Although she looked weary, she still persisted and finished the task.

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.

意yìfeeling

“倦” gives tiredness and “意” gives feeling, so the word names a feeling of weariness.

Characters in this word

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

人人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

龹

龹龹倦juàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

倦 is 人 (person) plus 龹, a sound part; the form 卷 can serve as that sound part.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.