haan4閑闲
Jyutpinghaan4
Yalehàahn
Definition
Idle, not busy, or at leisure.
- not busy; occupied with nothing; leisure
- literarya barrier, fence, or railing
- literaryto defend; to guard against
- literaryregulations; rules; boundaries
colloquialtimedaily actions
How it's used
Commonly written as 閒 in formal contexts, but 閑 is frequently used in casual writing. It specifically refers to having free time or being unoccupied, rather than just being relaxed. When someone says they are 閑, they are signaling availability to do something else.
Examples
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 閒置 which implies something is left unused or abandoned. In spoken Cantonese, always use 得閑 to mean free time, as using 閑 alone can sound slightly literary or incomplete.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
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Grammar guides
- Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
