逸 (yì) · leisurely, at ease, to escape

Meanings

1 leisurely
2 at ease
3 to escape
4 outstanding / surpassing

Characters

逸

yì

leisure / to escape / outstanding (classical)

Examples

HSK 7-9

他过着一种闲逸的田园生活。

Tā guò zhe yī zhǒng xián yì de tiányuán shēnghuó.

He lives a leisurely, pastoral life.

HSK 7-9

这位隐士逸居山林，远离尘嚣。

Zhè wèi yǐnshì yì jū shānlín, yuǎnlí chénxiāo.

This hermit lives in peaceful seclusion in the mountains, far from the noise of the world.

Tips

usage

逸 is primarily a classical/literary character. It appears in compounds such as 安逸 (comfortable and carefree), 逃逸 (to flee / escape), and 超逸 (transcendent). In isolation or in formal writing, it evokes classical elegance and seclusion. Rarely used alone in modern colloquial speech.

Components

radical

辶 chuò

walk; motion (radical form of 辵)

The walking radical wraps the lower-left, indexing 逸 and putting it firmly in the motion family alongside 逃 to flee, 追 to chase, 速 fast. Together with 兔 it pictures a rabbit darting away, the literal scene behind 逸's 'escape / break loose / leisurely freedom' meanings.

semantic

兔 tù

rabbit; hare

The inner element 兔 depicts a rabbit with its long ears and short tail, famously quick and prone to bolting away. In 逸 it supplies the core image of a creature that slips off, contributing the senses 'to escape, run free' and from there 'leisurely, unrestrained'. Same animal appears in 兔子.