TongTong
Sign in

宽限 (kuān xiàn) — to extend a deadline, to grant an extension

Definition

A formal verb meaning to extend a deadline (e.g. for payment, homework). The borrower/recipient benefits — the time is granted to them, not taken back.

verb
to extend a deadlineto grant an extension

Examples

  • 。
    Qǐng kuān jǐ tiān xiàn.
    Please extend the deadline by a few days.
  • 宽限。
    Yín háng kuān xiàn le huán kuǎn rì qī.
    The bank extended the repayment date.
  • 宽限。
    Lǎo bǎn kuān xiàn le wǒ sān tiān.
    The boss gave me a three-day extension.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

宽kuānloosen
限xiànlimit

宽限 means to 宽 (loosen) 限 (limit), extending a deadline.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 寬; 宽 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánhouse
Sound part声符shēngfú
萈
萈huán寬kuān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 寬 pairs 宀, a house, with 萈, a goat used for sound, to show a spacious house; the simplified 宽 is a later abbreviation.

Open 宽 →

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
⻖Written in full as阜fùmound
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn限xiàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

限 pairs ⻖ (mound, written 阜) with 艮 as a sound part; the mound side gives the sense of a boundary or limit.

Open 限 →
Appears in
Time (Abstract)

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.