TongTong
Sign in

偷懒 (tōu lǎn) — to slack off, to goof off, to shirk (work or study)

Definition

偷懒 (tōulǎn) means to slack off or goof off at work or study, implying deliberate avoidance. Unlike 推卸 (shirk responsibility/ blame) or 逃避 (evade), it focuses on being lazy rather than dodging blame.

verb
to slack offto goof offto shirk (work or study)

Examples

  • 偷懒，。
    Tā jīn tiān yòu tōu lǎn le, méi yǒu wán chéng rèn wu.
    He slacked off again today and didn't finish the task.
  • 。
    Wǒ cóng xiǎo dào dà cóng lái méi yǒu tōu guò lǎn.
    I have never slacked off from childhood to adulthood.
  • 偷懒，。
    Shàng bān shí bú yào tōu lǎn, bǎ gōng zuò zuò wán zài shuō.
    Don't slack off — finish the work first.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

偷tōutake/sneak
懒lǎnlaziness

偷 suggests taking or sneaking, and 懒 suggests laziness; the sense is sneaking a lazy break from work.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
俞
俞yú偷tōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 亻, a standing person, points to the idea of someone doing the act, while the right part 俞 gives the character its sound.

Open 偷 →

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 懶; 懒 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
賴
賴lài懶lǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 懶 pairs 忄 (heart) with 賴, which gives the sound; the simplified 懒 is a later shorthand.

Open 懒 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Workplace & Office

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.