享

• Pinyin: xiǎng
• Hanzi breakdown: 享 = 亠 + 口 + 子 (top of a building with an opening — an ancestral hall for receiving and enjoying offerings)

Meaning

To enjoy; to have the benefit of; to legitimately partake in something pleasurable or privileged.

A somewhat formal or literary single-character verb, often appearing in compound expressions: 享受 (to enjoy), 享有 (to possess rights or prestige), 享乐 (to indulge in pleasure), 享年 (to live to the age of — used in obituaries). As a standalone character it tends to appear in formal or classical-style writing, carrying the implication of deserved or rightful possession of something good.

Examples

1. 退休之后，他终于可以静享难得的悠闲时光，不必再为工作日夜操劳。 After retiring, he can finally quietly enjoy some rare leisure time without having to work around the clock anymore.
2. 生在太平盛世，我们每个人都有幸享受前所未有的社会稳定与经济繁荣。 Living in an era of peace and prosperity, each of us is fortunate to enjoy unprecedented social stability and economic growth.
3. 作为公司的创始股东，他依法享一切相应的分红权利与重大决策参与权。 As a founding shareholder of the company, he is legally entitled to all corresponding dividend rights and participation in major decisions.

Usage Guide

Context: literary, formal writing, lifestyle, rights

Tone: positive

Do Say

• 功成名就之后，他开始静享生活中的种种美好与从容，不再汲汲于功名。(Having achieved success, he began to quietly enjoy all the beauty and ease that life had to offer, no longer striving anxiously for fame.)
• 这项民生政策使低收入群体得以享更完善的公共医疗资源，切实改善了民众生活。(This social welfare policy enables low-income groups to enjoy access to more comprehensive public healthcare, tangibly improving people's lives.)

Don't Say

• 享痛苦或享磨难 — 享 inherently implies the positive reception of something good; for enduring hardship use 忍受, 承受, or 经历 instead

Origin & History

享 = original pictograph of an ancestral hall where offerings are received — to receive and enjoy offerings presented by descendants

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal