宽松

kuān sōng · HSK 7

relaxed

宽 wide/broad + 松 loose = broad-and-loose, so relaxed or lenient

宽 kuān means wide or broad; 松 sōng means loose or slack. Together broad-plus-loose gives the sense of slackened, hence loosening or relaxing a policy, or a relaxed, easygoing state.

宽 — roof 宀 + 萈 (phonetic, originally a horned goat)
Originally written with 宀 'roof' over 萈, a horned mountain goat, suggesting a spacious dwelling large enough to house such an animal. The 萈 element also lent its sound. Over time the form simplified to today's 宽, and the meaning shifted from 'spacious house' to the general sense of 'wide, broad, lenient'.

松 — tree 木 + public 公
A semantic-phonetic compound: 木 (tree) gives the meaning, while 公 (gōng) hints at the sound. Originally referring to the pine tree, whose loose, spreading needles led to the extended meaning 'loose' or 'relaxed'.

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