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犹豫 (yóu yù) — hesitant, indecisive

Definition

A common adjective for feeling unable to decide or act — can describe a person or modify a verb (犹豫了一下). Of the near-synonyms, 迟疑 is the closest near-equivalent; 举棋不定 and 犹豫不决 are more written/emphatic.

adjective
hesitantindecisive

Examples

  • ，犹豫。
    Duì shì fǒu jiē shòu zhè ge gōng zuò, tā yǒu xiē yóu yù.
    He is somewhat hesitant about whether to accept this job.
  • 犹豫，。
    yóu yù Le hǎo yí huì r, tā cái kāi kǒu shuō huà.
    After hesitating for a while, he finally spoke.
  • ，犹豫。
    Zuò jué dìng yào guǒ duàn, bú yào yóu yù tài jiǔ.
    When making a decision, be decisive; don't hesitate too long.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

犹yóu
豫yù

The characters 犹 and 豫 do not have separate meanings in this word; together they describe hesitation.

Sound-only characters

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 猶; 犹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
酋
酋qiú猶yóu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 猶 combines 犬 (dog) with 酋 as a sound part, and the evidence identifies it as a kind of monkey. The simplified 犹 is a shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 犹 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in
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