TongTong
Sign in

隐士 (yǐn shì) — hermit; recluse

Definition

A 隐士 is a person who withdraws from society to live in seclusion, often in the mountains, pursuing spiritual or intellectual freedom — a cultural ideal rooted in Daoist and scholarly traditions rather than mere isolation.

noun
hermitrecluse

Examples

  • 隐士，。
    Zhè wèi yǐn shì zài shān lǐ zhù le sān shí nián, yuǎn lí shì sú.
    This hermit lived in the mountains for thirty years, far from worldly affairs.
  • 隐士，。
    Gǔ dài hěn duō wén rén xuǎn zé chéng wéi yǐn shì, zhuī qiú jīng shén zì yóu.
    Many ancient literati chose to become hermits, pursuing spiritual freedom.
  • ，隐士。
    Tā yǐn jū zài shēn shān lǐ, shì yí wèi zhēn zhèng de yǐn shì.
    He lives in seclusion in the deep mountains, a true hermit.

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.

隐yǐnhidden
士shìscholar

隐, hidden, and 士, scholar, form a person who hides away.

Characters in this word

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 隱; 隐 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
㥯
㥯㥯隱yǐn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 隱 pairs 阝 (阜) with 㥯 to give the sound; the simplified 隐 is a shorthand, so its right side is not 㥯.

Open 隐 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.

Open 士 →
Appears in
Social Roles & Status

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.