懒汉 (lǎn hàn) — lazybones, idler, lazy fellow

Definition

noun

lazybonesidlerlazy fellow

Measure word · 个

懒汉，。
Tā zhēn shì gè lǎn hàn, zhěng tiān shén me dōu bú zuò.
He's such a lazybones, doing nothing all day.
懒汉，。
Cūn lǐ rén dōu jiào tā lǎn hàn, yīn wèi tā cóng bù gàn huó.
The villagers all call him an idler because he never works.
懒汉，！
Bié zuò lǎn hàn le, kuài qǐ lái bāng máng!
Stop being a lazybones, get up and help!

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

汉hànman/fellow

“懒” (lazy) and “汉” (man/fellow) together mean a lazy person.

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 懶; 懒 is its simplified writing.

忄賴懶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

賴

賴lài懶lǎn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 懶 pairs 忄 (heart) with 賴, which gives the sound; the simplified 懒 is a later shorthand.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in