闲 (xián) — free (not busy), idle, unoccupied
Definition
闲 (xián) means 'free, idle' — typically about time or a person, not space; 空 also covers 'vacant space'. Often carries a tone of having nothing to do, sometimes unfavorably like 懒惰.
adjective
free (not busy)idleunoccupied
Easily confused
- 问wènlook-aliketo ask
- 嫌xiánsound-aliketo dislike (usually because something is unsatisfactory); to complain about; to find fault with
- 间jiānlook-alike(classifier) for rooms, offices, and other enclosed spaces
- 咸xiánsound-alikesalty
- 闪shǎnlook-aliketo dodge, to duck out of the way
- 弦xiánsound-alike(noun) string (of a musical instrument or a bow)
Examples
- 闲，。Wǒ zuì jìn bù xián, gōng zuò hěn máng.I've been not free recently; work is very busy.
- 闲？。Zhōu mò nǐ xián ma? wǒ men yì qǐ qù pá shān ba.Are you free this weekend? Let's go hiking together.
- 闲，。Tā tiān tiān xián zhe, shén me yě bú zuò.He idles around every day, doing nothing.
Origin
Compound ideograph六书liùshū
会意huìyìTwo 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.
- 門門méndoor
- 月月yuèmoon
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.
Appears in
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