闲适 (xián shì) — leisurely and comfortable; relaxed and carefree

Definition

闲适 (xiánshì) describes a leisurely, unhurried feeling or lifestyle with no worries — a more literary, written word than the everyday 舒服 or 轻松.

adjective
leisurely and comfortablerelaxed and carefree
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，闲适。
    Tuì xiū hòu, tā guò shàng le xián shì de shēng huó.
    After retirement, he began living a leisurely and comfortable life.
  • 闲适，。
    Wǒ xǐ huan zhè zhǒng xián shì de zhōu mò, méi yǒu rèn hé ān pái.
    I like this kind of relaxed weekend with no plans at all.
  • 闲适。
    Zài gōng yuán sàn bù ràng rén gǎn dào shí fēn xián shì.
    Taking a walk in the park makes one feel very leisurely.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

闲xiánidle
适shìcomfortable

闲适 joins 闲 and 适, a relaxed and comfortable state.

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.

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 適; 适 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
啻
啻chì適shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 適 pairs 辶 (walking) with a sound part; its inner part was originally 啻 and was stylized into 啇. The simplified 适 is a later variant.

Open 适 →

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