怠 (dài) — (bound form) lazy, negligent, slack; (bound form) to treat coldly (in 怠慢)
Definition
怠 is a bound morpheme meaning 'slack' or 'negligent' — almost always appearing in set words like 懈怠, 怠慢, 怠工, never used alone. Negation is 懈 or 不可 rather than 不怠.
bound form
lazynegligentslackto treat coldly (in 怠慢)
Easily confused
- 带dàisound-alike(verb) to bring, to carry, to take along
- 待dàisound-aliketo treat, to deal with (a person or a matter)
- 待dàisound-aliketo stay, to remain
- 戴dàisound-aliketo put on or wear (glasses, hat, gloves, jewelry, etc.)
- 代dàisound-aliketo substitute, to act on behalf of, to replace
- 袋dàisound-alikebag, sack, pouch, pocket
Examples
- ，。Tā duì kè rén hěn dài màn, ràng rén hěn bù shū fu.He treated the guests coldly, making people very uncomfortable.
- ，。Gōng zuò bù néng xiè dài, fǒu zé huì chū wèn tí.You can't slack off at work, or problems will arise.
- 。Yuán gōng men dài gōng kàng yì dī gōng zī.The workers went slow to protest low wages.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
In 怠, the bottom 心 is heart, and 台 gives the sound.
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