息 | xī | xí

In Mandarin Chinese, 息 (Pinyin: xī 🔊 or xí 🔊) is a word of many meanings. As a verb, it can stand for “to breathe”, “to sigh”, “to blow”; “to stop”, “to cease”, “to rest”, “to calm down”; “to grow”, “to develop”. As a noun, it can mean “breath”, “life”, “(one’s) child”, “news”, “message”, “interest” or “dividends”.

According to Wiktionary, 息 is an ideogrammic compound of 自 “nose” and 心, “heart-mind”, meaning “to breathe (life) through one’s nose”. Likewise, Lawrence J. Howell writes in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters:

As per 自 (nose) + 心 heart/emotions → breathe through the nostrils in rhythm with the beating of the heart → breath → live → give birth; increase. Also, stop; rest (← stops and starts of steady breathing); interest (← increase); son (← give birth).

It’s curious how the logical extension of “breath” leads to the almost opposite meanings of “growth” (to breath is to live, to live is to grow and give birth) and “rest” (cf. English “take a breather”). I find it very Yin-Yang-y: in order to keep living, you need to take a rest!

Like other hanzi containing 心 in the lower part (e.g. 思, 想, 念, 意), 息 reminds me of a sailship. It’s resting but perfectly ready to go.

Compounds of 息 include

• 息 + 男 = 息男 (xīnán, xínán): (one’s) son
• 息 + 女 = 息女 (xīnǚ, xínǚ): (one’s) daughter
• 息 + 怒 = 息怒 (xīnù, xínù): to calm down; to not be angry
• 息 + 息 + 相 + 关 = 息息相关 (xīxīxiāngguān, xíxíxiāngguān): to be closely linked
• 休 + 息 = 休息 (xiūxi 🔊, xiūxí): to rest; to take a break
• 太 + 息 = 太息 (tàixī, tàixí): to sigh
• 子 + 息 = 子息 (zǐxī, zǐxí): son; the next generation; (monetary) interest
• 气 + 息 = 气息 (qìxí, qìxí): breath; smell, odour, flavour; style, appeal; spirit
• 安 + 息 = 安息 (ānxī 🔊, ānxí): to rest; to rest in peace
• 出 + 息 = 出息 (chūxi 🔊): prospects, promise, future
• 月 + 息 = 月息 (yuèxī, yuèxí): monthly interest

In Japanese, 息, in its “breath” meaning, is pronounced iki (いき). Here’s a poem by John White (1924—2021) called The Breath in the Flute (笛の息), from the book of the same name.

The breath in the flute is the sound of life stirring springtime and sadness John White 笛の息 いのち動く音 春と悲しみ Fue no iki inochi ugoku oto haru to kanashimi

More photos related to rest, hanzi and calligraphy @ Shutterstock.