拖延 tuōyán to delay
to delay; to put off; to procrastinate
How to remember 拖延: 拖 to drag + 延 to defer = to delay.
Characters
How it is used
- To delay / put off / procrastinate: 拖延时间 (tuōyán shíjiān) to stall for time, 拖延症 (tuōyánzhèng) procrastination.
- Negative nuance of dragging things out or stalling.
- 拖延症 (procrastination) is a very common colloquial term. Compare 推迟 (tuīchí, to postpone, more neutral).
Example sentences
- 我不能再拖延了。 Wǒ bùnéng zài tuōyán le.I have to stop procrastinating.
- 不要拖延去找工作的事。 Búyào tuōyán qù zhǎo gōngzuò de shì.Stop putting off finding a job.
- 我不像我以前那么拖延了。 Wǒ bú xiàng wǒ yǐqián nàme tuōyán le.I don't procrastinate as much as I used to.