耽误 (dān wu) — to delay, to hold up, to waste time | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

耽误 (dānwu) means to delay or hold up something important like work, study, or a schedule, causing lost time. It focuses on the cost to the affected activity, unlike 拖延 (putting off intentionally) or 延误 (formal, for transport/schedules).

verb

to delayto hold upto waste time

Examples

，耽误。
Huǒ chē wǎn diǎn le, wǒ men dān wu le hěn duō shí jiān.
The train was late, and we wasted a lot of time.
耽误。
Bié wèi xiǎo shì dān wu xué xí.
Don't let small things delay your studies.
耽误。
Tā yīn wèi gǎn mào dān wu le kāi huì.
He missed the meeting because of a cold.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

“耽” and “误” both point to delay, so the word means to hold something up.

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.

耳冘耽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

冘

冘yóu耽dān

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

耽 has 耳 (ear) as its meaning part and 冘 as its sound part.

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 誤; 误 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánspeech

Sound part声符shēngfú

吳

吳wú誤wù

Same sound today

The traditional form 誤 uses 言 (speech) for meaning and 吳 for sound, giving the idea of speaking an error; the simplified 误 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Time (Abstract)

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