闲暇 (xián xiá) — leisure (free time, spare time)

Definition

noun

leisure (free time, spare time)

Examples

闲暇。
Tā lì yòng xián xiá shí jiān xué xí le yì mén wài yǔ.
He used his leisure time to learn a foreign language.
，闲暇。
Gōng zuò zài máng, yě yào liú yì xiē xián xiá gěi zì jǐ.
No matter how busy work is, you should still set aside some leisure for yourself.
，闲暇。
Tuì xiū hòu, tā zhōng yú yǒu le chōng zú de xián xiá.
After retirement, he finally had ample leisure.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

闲xiánidle

暇xiáspare time

闲 (idle) and 暇 (spare time) both point to free time, so together they mean leisure.

Characters in this word

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.

門月閒

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.

Open 闲 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

日叚暇

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun

Sound part声符shēngfú

叚

叚jiǎ暇xiá

Same sound today

暇 is built from 日 (sun) and 叚, which gives the sound.

Open 暇 →

Appears in