歇
xiē · HSK 5
to rest
😮💨 歇 = 曷 (hé, phonetic) + 欠 (yawn) — yawn when resting
The 欠 radical depicts an open mouth/yawn and shows up in words tied to breath and exhaustion. Pair it with 曷 as the sound clue (hé → xiē) and the character lines up with stopping to catch your breath.
歇 — 曷 (hé, phonetic) + 欠 (yawn/breath)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The right side 欠 depicts a person exhaling or yawning, suggesting rest and pausing for breath. The left side 曷 supplies the sound. Together they convey the idea of stopping to rest, which extended to mean 'to rest' and 'to cease.'