希罕 (xī hǎn) — to value as a rarity, to treasure; to care about (often used in negative)

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning 'to value as rare' or 'to care about', almost always used in the negative (不希罕) to dismiss something as unimportant. Do not confuse with the adjective 稀罕 'rare, scarce'.

verb
to value as a rarityto treasureto care about (often used in negative)

Examples

  • 希罕，。
    Zhè jiàn dōng xī bù xī hǎn, nǐ ná qù ba.
    I don't treasure this thing — you can take it.
  • 希罕，。
    Tā xī hǎn de shì gǎn qíng, bú shì qián.
    What he values is feelings, not money.
  • 希罕？。
    Shuí xī hǎn nǐ de lǐ wù? wǒ gēn běn kàn bú shàng.
    Who values your gift? I couldn't care less.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

希xīrare
罕hǎnrare

希 and 罕 both convey rarity, so together they mean something rare and valued.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

希 is made from 爻 and 巾, which means cloth. How those parts connect to “hope” is not explained.

Open 希 →

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
网网wǎngnet
Sound part声符shēngfú
干
干gān罕hǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

罕 combines 网 (net) as a meaning part with 干 as a sound part.

Open 罕 →

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