tau1 haan4偷閒偷闲
Jyutpingtau1 haan4
Yaletāu hàahn
Definition
To sneak a break; to squeeze out some free time to relax from a busy schedule.
colloquialdaily actionstime
How it's used
Focuses specifically on the act of carving out a small, often stolen, window of relaxation during a period of intense work or pressure. It carries a slightly indulgent or rebellious nuance, as if the break is something you are taking despite your obligations. It is frequently used in the four character idiom 忙裏偷閒 to describe the art of finding peace in a hectic life.
Examples
You're so busy, do you still have time to sneak a break?
Related words
Common phrases
to steal a moment of leisure while busy
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
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Grammar guides
- 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.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
