迟疑 (chí yí) — hesitant, indecisive | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal/literary adjective for pausing in indecision. A more elevated synonym of 犹豫, which is the everyday word.

adjective

hesitantindecisive

迟疑。
Tā kàn qǐ lái yǒu xiē chí yí.
He looks a bit hesitant.
迟疑。
Tā chí yí dì yáo le yáo tóu.
She shook her head hesitantly.
，。
Miàn duì zhè ge jué dìng, tā háo bù chí yí.
Facing this decision, he was not hesitant at all.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

迟chíslow to decide

疑yíhesitate

迟 and 疑 both suggest hesitancy, together meaning hesitant and indecisive.

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.

辶尺迟

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuòmotion

Sound part声符shēngfú

尺

Same sound today

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

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

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

Appears in