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Strokes of genius
July 27, 2013, Saturday
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休
The Chinese character 休 "xiū" consists of two parts, left and right - one means "person" and the other means "wood." Can you guess the meaning of the combination?
Maybe I'd better give you an important hint. The right part, 木 "mù" also has the meaning of "tree" in Chinese. But don't think of Pinocchio. Now, here's the Chinese ancestors' logic: The character休 "xiū," describing "a person leaning on a tree," indicates "rest." For example,
休息 xiū xi
v. rest
好好休息一下！
Hǎohǎo xiūxi yíxià!
Take a good rest!
n. break
每节课中间有十分钟休息。
Měi jié kè zhōngjiān yǒu shí fēnzhōng xiūxi.
There are ten minutes' breaks between the lessons.
休假 xiū jià
v. have a holiday, go on a vacation
老板今天休假。
Lǎobǎn jīntiān xiūjià.
The boss is off today.
退休 tuì xiū
v. retire
中国男人60岁退休。
Zhngguó nánrén 60 suì tuìxiū.
Chinese men retire at 60.
Besides "rest," 休 "xiū" also means "cease, give up, stop" in the words like
休会 xiū huì
v. adjourn
休学 xiū xué
v. leave of absence (from school)
休战 xiū zhàn
v./ n. truce, cease-fire
Last but not least, 休 "xiū" is the transcription of the English name "Hugh" - in case you want to chat about 休格兰特 "Xiū Gélántè" (Hugh Grant) or 休杰克曼 "Xiū Jiékèmàn" (Hugh Jackman) in Mandarin.
The Chinese character 休 "xiū" consists of two parts, left and right - one means "person" and the other means "wood." Can you guess the meaning of the combination?
Maybe I'd better give you an important hint. The right part, 木 "mù" also has the meaning of "tree" in Chinese. But don't think of Pinocchio. Now, here's the Chinese ancestors' logic: The character休 "xiū," describing "a person leaning on a tree," indicates "rest." For example,
休息 xiū xi
v. rest
好好休息一下！
Hǎohǎo xiūxi yíxià!
Take a good rest!
n. break
每节课中间有十分钟休息。
Měi jié kè zhōngjiān yǒu shí fēnzhōng xiūxi.
There are ten minutes' breaks between the lessons.
休假 xiū jià
v. have a holiday, go on a vacation
老板今天休假。
Lǎobǎn jīntiān xiūjià.
The boss is off today.
退休 tuì xiū
v. retire
中国男人60岁退休。
Zhngguó nánrén 60 suì tuìxiū.
Chinese men retire at 60.
Besides "rest," 休 "xiū" also means "cease, give up, stop" in the words like
休会 xiū huì
v. adjourn
休学 xiū xué
v. leave of absence (from school)
休战 xiū zhàn
v./ n. truce, cease-fire
Last but not least, 休 "xiū" is the transcription of the English name "Hugh" - in case you want to chat about 休格兰特 "Xiū Gélántè" (Hugh Grant) or 休杰克曼 "Xiū Jiékèmàn" (Hugh Jackman) in Mandarin.
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