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悠闲 (yōu xián) — leisurely; carefree; relaxed

Definition

悠闲 describes a leisurely, unhurried pace of life or mood — used for time and atmosphere (悠闲的生活/周末). Lighter and slower-paced than 安逸 (comfort-focused) or 潇洒 (confident, stylish ease).

adjective
leisurelycarefreerelaxed

Examples

  • 悠闲。
    Zài gōng yuán lǐ sàn bù de gǎn jué hěn yōu xián.
    Walking in the park feels very leisurely.
  • 悠闲。
    Tā tuì xiū hòu guò zhe yōu xián de shēng huó.
    He lives a leisurely life after retirement.
  • 悠闲。
    Wǒ xǐ huan zhè zhǒng yōu xián de zhōu mò.
    I like this kind of leisurely weekend.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

悠yōuleisurely
闲xiánidle

悠 and 闲 both suggest ease and idleness, so together they mean leisurely.

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
心心xīnheart; mind
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu悠yōu
Same sound today

悠 pairs 攸, which gives the sound, with 心, meaning heart or mind.

Open 悠 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閒; 闲 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 閒 puts 月 (moon) inside 門 (door), as if moonlight peeks through a door; this picture gives the idea of a gap or space. The simplified 闲 is a later abbreviation.

Open 闲 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Emotions & Feelings

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