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举棋不定 (jǔ qí-bú dìng) — to be indecisive; to waver; to hesitate

Definition

Literally 'hand hovering over a chess piece': describes wavering at the moment of decision, harder to resolve than 犹豫 and stronger than 摇摆. Close synonym of 犹豫不决, with a more vivid, literary feel.

phrase
to be indecisiveto waverto hesitate

Examples

  • ，举棋不定。
    Miàn duì liǎng gè gōng zuò jī huì, tā yì zhí jǔ qí-bú dìng.
    Faced with two job offers, he has been hesitating all along.
  • 举棋不定，。
    Bié zài jǔ qí-bú dìng le, shí jiān bù děng rén.
    Stop wavering — time waits for no one.
  • ，举棋不定，。
    Zài rén shēng de shí zì lù kǒu, tā jǔ qí-bú dìng, bù zhī gāi wǎng nǎ zǒu.
    At the crossroads of life, he was indecisive, not knowing where to go.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 舉; 举 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
與
與yǔ舉jǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 舉 pairs 與, which gives the sound, with 手, a hand; the simplified 举 is a later shorthand.

Open 举 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwooden
Sound part声符shēngfú
其
其qí棋qí
Same sound today

棋 has 木 on the left, showing it was made of wood, and 其 on the right gives the sound.

Open 棋 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
正
正zhèng定dìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

定 is built from 宀 and 正, with 正 supplying the sound.

Open 定 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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