懶

A phono-semantic compound consisting of:

心 (heart) — semantic component, indicating mental or emotional state, laziness is viewed as a state of mind;

賴 — phonetic component, provides pronunciation.

In Sino-Korean, 賴 would regularly yield 란, but by convention it is read 라 in Korean usage. This reflects phonological simplification and established reading tradition.

나태 (懶怠) — laziness

게으름병 (懶病) — laziness (colloquial expression)

라만 (懶慢) — indolence (rare, classical)

In modern Korean, the word 게으르다 is written in Hangul, while 懶 appears in classical or Hanja contexts.

懶 emphasizes habitual unwillingness to exert effort.

In East Asian moral philosophy, laziness was often viewed as a defect of character rather than mere inactivity.

Related characters:

怠 — neglect; slackness

惰 — laziness; idleness

慢 — arrogance; negligence

Classical citations:

《韓非子》 (Han Feizi)

「懶者不成事」

“The lazy accomplish nothing.”

Later vernacular literature frequently uses 懶 to describe indolent behavior.