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毫不迟疑 (háo bù chí yí) — without the slightest hesitation; unhesitatingly

Definition

Literary idiom meaning 'without the slightest hesitation'. Reads as a single fixed unit and modifies a verb with 地; close in meaning to 毫不犹豫 (without any wavering).

idiom
without the slightest hesitationunhesitatingly

Examples

  • 毫不迟疑。
    Tā háo bù chí yí dì dā ying le wǒ men de qǐng qiú.
    He agreed to our request without the slightest hesitation.
  • ，毫不迟疑。
    Miàn duì wēi xiǎn, tā háo bù chí yí dì chōng jìn le huǒ chǎng.
    Facing danger, she rushed into the fire without any hesitation.
  • 毫不迟疑。
    Wǒ háo bù chí yí jiē shòu le tā de yāo qǐng.
    I accepted his invitation without the slightest hesitation.

Origin

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.

The written form 毫 is built from 高 and 毛.

Open 毫 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
辶Written in full as辵chuòmotion
Sound part声符shēngfú
尺
尺chǐ迟chí
Same sound today

迟 pairs 辶, a walking sign, with 尺, used for the sound.

Open 迟 →

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

  • 大大dàstanding human figure
  • 夂夂zhǐtilted head with open mouth
  • 丨丨gǔncane

疑 depicts a standing figure 大 with a tilted, open-mouthed head 夂 and a cane 丨, a confused person looking around for direction.

Open 疑 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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