弛

chí

verb #54,179

Meanings

1 to relax; to slacken
2 to unstring a bow

Characters

弛

chí

to relax; to slacken

Examples

HSK 5

好的时间安排讲究一张一弛。

Hǎo de shíjiān ānpái jiǎngjiu yìzhāng-yìchí.

Good time management means a balance of tension and relaxation, work and rest.

HSK 6

考试后他终于松弛了几天。

Kǎoshì hòu tā zhōngyú sōngchí le jǐ tiān.

After the exam he finally let himself relax for a few days.

Tips

memory

弛 literally means to unstring a bow, so the bow radical 弓 makes sense. It broadened to "slacken / relax", as in 松弛 (to relax) and 一张一弛 (alternating tension and ease).

Components

radical

弓 gōng

bow (weapon)

Left side 弓 is the bow radical. The original meaning of 弛 is to unstring a bow, letting the tension off, which generalized to "to slacken".

phonetic

也 yě

also

Right side 也 is the phonetic element; the sound has drifted from yě to chí, so read it as a sound hint rather than an exact match.

Stroke Order

弛 chí

弛