弛 (chí) — (bound form) to relax, to slacken, to loosen

Definition

弛 (chí) is a bound morpheme meaning 'to loosen / slacken / relax' — it only appears in compounds (松弛, 废弛), never as a standalone verb. Contrast with 张 zhāng, its opposite bound morpheme meaning 'to tighten / strain'.

bound form
to relaxto slackento loosen
Easily confused

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè zhāng gōng tài sōng chí le.
    This bow is too slack.
  • 弛。
    Zuì jìn gōng sī guǎn lǐ yǒu xiē fèi chí.
    Recently the company's management has been somewhat lax.
  • 。
    Tā de jī ròu màn màn sōng chí xià lái.
    His muscles slowly relaxed.

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
弓弓gōng
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě弛chí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

弛 combines 弓, a bow, with 也 to give its sound.

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