推延 (tuī yán) — to postpone, to put off (formal, of plans, meetings, decisions)

Definition

Formal verb for postponing plans, meetings, or decisions — stronger and more written than 推迟. Often used in passive (被推延) for official cancellations.

verb
to postponeto put off (formal, of plans, meetings, decisions)

Examples

  • 推延。
    Tā men jué dìng tuī yán xiàng mù dào míng nián.
    They decided to postpone the project until next year.
  • ，推延。
    Yóu yú tiān qì yuán yīn, bǐ sài bèi tuī yán le.
    Due to weather, the competition was postponed.
  • 推延。
    Zhè xiàng jué cè bù néng jì xù tuī yán le.
    This decision cannot be postponed any further.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

推tuīpush
延yánextend

推 and 延 both convey pushing or extending a date, so the plan is postponed.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
隹
隹zhuī推tuī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 扌 is a hand, and the right side 隹 gives the sound; the character shows pushing with the hand.

Open 推 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.