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犹豫不决 (yóu yù bù jué) — to hesitate; to be indecisive

Definition

A four-character phrase meaning 'to hesitate' — stronger and more emphatic than the bare adjective 犹豫. Similar to 举棋不定 in force, but 举棋不定 leans literary.

phrase
to hesitateto be indecisive

Examples

  • ，，犹豫不决。
    Miàn duì zhè me zhòng yào de xuǎn zé, tā yí xiàng guǒ duàn, zhè cì què yóu yù bù jué le.
    Faced with such an important choice, he is usually decisive, but this time he hesitated.
  • ，犹豫不决，。
    Zài miàn shì guān zhuī wèn xià, tā de huí dá yóu yù bù jué, xiǎn de hěn bú zì xìn.
    Under the interviewer's pressing questions, his answer was hesitant and appeared very unconfident.
  • ，犹豫不决，！
    Shí jiān bù duō le, bié zài yóu yù bù jué, gǎn jǐn ná gè zhǔ yì ba!
    Time is running out. Stop hesitating and come up with a decision quickly!

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

犹豫hesitate
犹yóu豫yù
不决not decide
不bùnot决juédecide
偏正Modifier + head

犹豫 conveys wavering, and 不决 adds that something is not decided, giving indecision.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 猶; 犹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
酋
酋qiú猶yóu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 猶 combines 犬 (dog) with 酋 as a sound part, and the evidence identifies it as a kind of monkey. The simplified 犹 is a shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 犹 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 決; 决 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
夬
夬guài決jué
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 決 has 氵 (water) and 夬, which gives the sound. This describes 決, not the simplified 决.

Open 决 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesThinking & Cognition

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