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延缓 (yán huǎn) — to delay; to postpone; to slow down

Definition

延缓 (yánhuǎ) emphasizes slowing a process down rather than just pushing a date back: 'delay, slow' (延缓衰老). For pure date-postponing (a meeting, a deadline) use 推迟 or 延期.

verb
to delayto postponeto slow down

Examples

  • 延缓。
    Shì dàng de yùn dòng kě yǐ yán huǎn shuāi lǎo.
    Appropriate exercise can delay aging.
  • ，延缓。
    Yīn wèi xià yǔ, bǐ sài bèi yán huǎn le.
    The game was postponed because of rain.
  • 延缓。
    Sī jī kàn dào hóng dēng hòu yán huǎn le chē sù.
    The driver slowed down after seeing the red light.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

延yánpostpone
缓huǎnslow

延 (postpone) and 缓 (slow) combine to mean making something slower or later.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape of 延 adds a top stroke to a form showing 彳 (walking) and 止 (foot), originally meaning to travel far, to show prolonging.

Open 延 →

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 緩; 缓 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
爰
爰yuán緩huǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 緩 pairs 糸 (silk) with 爰, which gives the sound; the simplified 缓 is a later shorthand.

Open 缓 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Change & Process

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