闲置 (xián zhì) — to leave (something) unused; to idle; to lie id…

Definition

闲置 means leaving resources (equipment, land, capital) unused for a period of time. Unlike 搁置 (shelving a plan or issue), it emphasizes idle physical assets.

verb

to leave (something) unusedto idleto lie idleto be unused

Examples

闲置。
Gōng sī xián zhì le hěn duō shè bèi.
The company left a lot of equipment unused.
闲置。
Zhè kuài dì yǐ jīng xián zhì le hǎo jǐ nián.
This piece of land has been idle for several years.
闲置。
Tā zài wǎng shàng chū shòu yì xiē xián zhì de yī wù.
She is selling some unused clothes online.

Origin

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.

闲xiánidle

置zhìplace

“闲” idle and “置” place combine to mean putting something aside without use.

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.

罒直置

Meaning part形符xíngfú

罒Written in full as网wǎng

Sound part声符shēngfú

直

直zhí置zhì

Same sound today

置 is built from 罒, a net, on top and 直 below; 直 gives the sound.

Open 置 →

Appears in