闲谈 (xián tán) — to chat, to have a casual conversation

Definition

闲谈 is a written, slightly formal word for relaxed, unhurried chat — more literary than colloquial 聊天. Often used for longer, leisurely conversation rather than quick small talk.

verb

to chatto have a casual conversation

Examples

闲谈。
Wǒ men xián tán le yí huì r gōng zuò de shì qing.
We chatted for a while about work.
闲谈。
Tā men xián tán le yí gè xià wǔ.
They chatted all afternoon.
闲谈。
Tā xǐ huan zài xiū xi shí hé bié rén xián tán.
She likes to chat with others during breaks.

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

谈tántalk

闲 gives idle and 谈 gives talk, together meaning casual conversation.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 談; 谈 is its simplified writing.

言炎談

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánspeech

Sound part声符shēngfú

炎

炎yán談tán

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

For 谈, the traditional form 談 pairs 言 (speech) with 炎 (yán) as the sound part.

Open 谈 →