隙 (xì) — crack, crevice, gap (concrete); interval (in time or space); loophole, discord, rift (abstract)
Definition
Bound-form noun meaning 'crack, gap, rift' — almost always appears inside compounds (缝隙, 间隙, 嫌隙, 漏隙) rather than on its own. It carries a literary tone compared to plain 缝 fèng, which is the everyday word for a physical crack.
bound form
crackcrevicegap (concrete)interval (in time or space)loopholediscordrift (abstract)
Examples
- 。Qiáng shàng yǒu yí dào xì xiǎo de fèng xì.There is a tiny crack in the wall.
- 隙。Tā men lì yòng fǎ lǜ lòu xì táo bì le zé rèn.They exploited a legal loophole to evade responsibility.
- 隙。Liǎng rén zhī jiān de xián xì yuè lái yuè shēn.The rift between the two people is growing deeper.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
⻖Written in full as阜fùmound
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡭴
𡭴𡭴隙
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
In 隙, the left ⻖ is the mound form 阜, while 𡭴 gives the sound; the whole shows a hole or gap in a wall.
Appears in
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