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松懈 (sōng xiè) — (verb) to slack off, to relax one's efforts (negatively); (adjective) slack, lax, negligent

Definition

松懈 is a negative 'slack, lax' — about letting effort or discipline slip. Unlike 放松 (healthy, intentional relaxation), 懈怠 implies failing in duty. Compare 松弛 (physical looseness or lax rules).

verb
to slack offto relax one's efforts (negatively)
adjective
slacklaxnegligent

Examples

  • 松懈。
    Fáng yì gōng zuò yí kè yě bù néng sōng xiè.
    Epidemic prevention work cannot be slack for a single moment.
  • 松懈，。
    Tā zuì jìn xué xí tài dù hěn sōng xiè, chéng jì xià jiàng le bù shǎo.
    His attitude toward studying has been very slack lately, and his grades have dropped quite a bit.
  • 松懈。
    Cháng qī sōng xiè huì dǎo zhì tuán duì xiào lǜ jiàng dī.
    Long-term slackness will lead to a decrease in team efficiency.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

松sōngslack
懈xièremiss

松 and 懈 both mean slack or remiss, so together they describe a lack of tightness or diligence.

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
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
公
公gōng松sōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

松 uses 木 (wood) to show it is a tree, and 公 to give the sound.

Open 松 →

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
忄Written in full as心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
解
解jiě懈xiè
Same sound today

懈 combines 忄, a shortened form of 心 (heart), with 解, which gives the sound.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Good & Bad

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