Chinese word

耽误

Pronunciation

Pinyindān wù

Meaning

  • verbdelay

Example

对不起，我耽误你了。duì bù qǐ wǒ dān wù nǐ le

Sorry, I delayed you.

Illustration for 耽误 (delay)

More examples

晚点的列车耽误了我的行程。wán diǎn de liè chē dān wù le wǒ de xíng chéng

The late train delayed my trip.

Core concept

Something that should happen on time is pushed later because attention or time remains tied up elsewhere.

Common phrases

  • 耽误时间dān wù shí jiān

    waste time

  • 耽误工作dān wù gōng zuò

    delay work

  • 被耽误bèi dān wù

    be delayed

Similar words

延误yán wù: Makes a scheduled trip, process, or event run later than its planned time.
耽搁dān gē: Holds up work or an activity because progress is interrupted or temporarily left waiting.
拖延tuō yán: Puts off work or a commitment instead of carrying it out when due.
延迟yán chí: Moves a planned starting time, ending time, or deadline to a later point.

Definition in Chinese

因某事停留或占用时间而使原定事务推迟或受阻。yīn mǒu shì tíng liú huò zhàn yòng shí jiān ér shǐ yuán dìng shì wù tuī chí huò shòu zǔ

Word origin

耽 (dān, "linger") + 误 (wù, "miss") treats lingering as causing the right time or plan to be missed.

Usage tips

  • A person can be the object, which makes the verb useful in apologies because it names the effect on another person's schedule, not only the cause of the delay.

Other meanings

  • wasteverb
  • hinderverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word