Chinese word

拖

Pronunciation

Pinyintuō

Meaning

  • verbdrag

Example

他把箱子拖到门口。tā bǎ xiāng zi tuō dào mén kǒu

He dragged the box to the doorway.

Illustration for 拖 (drag)

More examples

开会时他总是拖到最后才发言。kāi huì shí tā zǒng shì tuō dào zuì hòu cái fā yán

At meetings, he always puts off speaking until the very end.

Core concept

Forward motion becomes a trailing pull: an object moves along the ground, or a task takes longer to move ahead.

Common phrases

  • 拖延时间tuō yán shí jiān

    stall for time

  • 拖欠工资tuō qiàn gōng zī

    delay payment of wages

  • 拖着行李tuō zhe xíng lǐ

    drag luggage

Similar words

拉lā: Pull an object toward oneself or in a chosen direction with the hands or a tool.
拖延tuō yán: Deliberately make a task or process take longer and finish later.
推迟tuī chí: Move a planned time or appointment to a later time.
耽搁dān gē: Be held up temporarily because of circumstances or an obstacle.

Definition in Chinese

把东西用手或工具拉着移动，常指沿地面拖拽；引申为把事情或时间往后推迟或拖延。bǎ dōng xī yòng shǒu huò gōng jù lā zhe yí dòng cháng zhǐ yán dì miàn tuō zhuāi yǐn shēn wèi bǎ shì qíng huò shí jiān wǎng hòu tuī chí huò tuō yán

Word origin

拖 (tuō, "drag") names a physical pulling action, then extends that action to matters that are drawn out in time.

Usage tips

  • In the time-related use, the word commonly carries blame or impatience, so it can sound stronger than a neutral remark about a later date.

Other meanings

  • pullverb
  • delayverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word