閒

jiān
#6,738 most
frequent character
variant of 間|间[jian1]

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

閒 began as a picture: a door 門 with the moon 月 showing through a crack. That gave the old meaning 'crack, split'. From that came 'free time, leisure'. Read jiān, it means room or space; read jiàn, space between or separate.

Drawn as: moon through door crack; crack in door

Ask DeepSeek

Same Characters, Different Readings

閒jiàn
variant of 間|间[jian4]

Homophones

HSK 5
煎jiān
to pan fry, to sauté
间jiān
between, measure word for rooms
肩jiān
shoulder
尖jiān
pointed, shrill, sharp, acute
兼jiān
to hold two posts at the same time
奸jiān
to fornicate, to defile, adultery
浅jiān
sound of moving water

Your word lists

Sign in to add this word to your private lists.