How to say “delay” in Chinese
delay, put off (a matter)
“Delay” in Chinese is 拖延, tuō yán: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
拖延 is read tuō yán: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 扌 “hand”. 拖鞋 — “shoes you drag along”, i.e. slippers.
Bottom left, 廴 — “long stride”, as in 建.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “拖延”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 拖延. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 别再拖延时间了biézàituōyánshíjiānleStop stalling for time.
More words from the lesson “Deadlines: until when and for how long”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “delay” in Chinese?
“Delay” in Chinese is 拖延, pinyin tuōyán.
What does 拖延 mean?
拖延 (tuōyán) means “delay, put off (a matter)”.
How do you write 拖延?
拖延 is 2 characters: 拖 (tuō) — drag, pull; 延 (yán) — extend, prolong. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 拖延?
拖延 is read tuōyán. Tones: tuō — first tone, yán — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“delay” in the lesson “Deadlines: until when and for how long”
This word is from the topic “Time and deadlines” of HSK 6. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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