() — (bound form) to play, to frolic, to sport (literary)

Definition

A literary bound morpheme meaning 'play / frolic' — almost always embedded in compounds like 嬉戏, 嬉笑, 嬉闹 rather than used alone.

bound form
to playto frolicto sport (literary)

Examples

  • Hái zi men zài cǎo dì shàng xī xì.
    The children were playing on the grass.
  • Tā tīng dào xiào hua hòu, liǎn shàng lù chū le xī xiào.
    After hearing the joke, a playful smile appeared on her face.
  • Gōng yuán lǐ chōng mǎn le hái zi men de xī nào shēng.
    The park was filled with the sound of children playing.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
⁰xī
Same sound today

嬉 has 女 on the left and 喜 on the right; the 喜 part gives the sound and means joy.

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