歇

xiē

曷 + 欠

HSK 2.0Level 5

HSK 3.0Level 6

Frequency#1828

Definitions

xiē (verb) to rest; to take a break

xiē (verb) to stop; to halt

xiē (noun) a moment; a short while

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 欠 represents the meaning and 曷 represents the sound.

Semantic: 欠 Phonetic: 曷

About

Composed of the phonetic element "曷" and the semantic element "欠", which denotes breath or mouth-related actions, the character "歇" originally denoted the act of resting or ceasing, with its structure directly suggesting a pause in exertion. Over time, its meaning extended from this core concept to include stopping or halting activities in a broader sense, and it occasionally conveyed related ideas such as lodging overnight, yet its primary usage continues to revolve around intermission and cessation.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我们歇一会儿。

Wǒmen xiē yīhuǐr.

Let's rest for a while.

他累了，需要歇歇。

Tā lèi le, xūyào xiēxie.

He is tired and needs to rest.

大家在树下歇脚。

Dàjiā zài shù xià xiē jiǎo.

Everyone takes a break under the tree.

工作之后，我喜欢歇息片刻。

Gōngzuò zhīhòu, wǒ xǐhuān xiēxī piànkè.

After work, I like to rest for a moment.

他们决定歇业一天进行整顿。

Tāmen juédìng xiēyè yī tiān jìnxíng zhěngdùn.

They decided to close for a day for reorganization.

尽管很忙，他还是抽空歇了歇。

Jǐnguǎn hěn máng, tā háishì chōu kòng xiē le xiē.

Although very busy, he still took some time to rest.

在长途旅行中，我们每隔几小时就歇一次。

Zài chángtú lǚxíng zhōng, wǒmen měi gé jǐ xiǎoshí jiù xiē yīcì.

During the long journey, we rest every few hours.

由于天气炎热，工地上的工人们不得不频繁歇工。

Yóuyú tiānqì yánrè, gōngdì shàng de gōngrénmen bù dé bù pínfán xiēgōng.

Due to the hot weather, the workers on the construction site have to frequently stop work.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 曷

Component: 欠

歇