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延误 (yán wù) — to delay; to be delayed; to cause a delay; to miss (an opportunity)

Definition

延误 emphasizes delay that causes a setback — schedule slippage or missed opportunity. Unlike 延期 (formally pushing a deadline), the delay here is often unplanned, and 耽误 focuses more on wasting someone's time.

verb
to delayto be delayedto cause a delayto miss (an opportunity)

Examples

  • ，延误。
    Yóu yú bào fēng yǔ, hěn duō háng bān dōu yán wù le.
    Due to the storm, many flights were delayed.
  • 延误。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù de jìn dù yǐ jīng yán wù le sān gè yuè.
    The progress of this project has been delayed by three months.
  • ，延误。
    Rú guǒ wǒ men zài yóu yù, jiù huì yán wù zuì jiā shí jī.
    If we hesitate any longer, we will miss the best opportunity.

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yánextend; delay
误wùmiss; mistake

延 carries 'extend/delay' and 误 carries 'miss/mistake'; together they mean to hold up or miss a deadline.

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 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.

Open 误 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Time (Abstract)

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