The compound word 休闲 (xiūxián), meaning "leisure" or "recreation", is formed by combining two characters, each contributing a distinct yet complementary meaning. The first character, 休 (xiū), originally depicted a person resting against a tree, conveying the core ideas of "to rest", "to stop", or "to cease" work. It is paired with 闲 (xián), which historically represented a wooden door bar, later extended to mean "idleness", "free time", or "unoccupied". Thus, the compound semantically merges the act of ceasing labor (休) with the state of having free, unoccupied time (闲), together conceptualizing the modern notion of purposeful leisure time spent in relaxation and recreational activities.