耽 (dān): to delay
耽 (dān) is a Chinese character meaning “to delay.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 耳 (semantic) and 冘 (phonetic). It ranks #2531 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 耽 ear. Its radical form 耳 (ear) appears in many related characters such as 闻 (wén, to hear, to smell), 职 (zhí, job, duty), 联 (lián, connect, unite).
Definitions
- to delay
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 耽 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 耽
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 耽搁verb | dān ge | to delay |
| 耽心verb | dān xīn | variant of 擔心|担心 |
| 耽美noun | dān měi | (slang) boys' love, aka BL (genre of homoerotic online literature) |
| 耽忧verb | dān yōu | variant of 擔憂|担忧 |
| 耽溺verb | dān nì | to indulge in |
耽 appears in 6 compound words: 100 as the first character, 0 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 耽 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
不要耽误时间,我们还有很多工作要做。
Búyào dānwù shíjiān, wǒmen hái yǒu hěn duō gōngzuò yào zuò.
Don't waste time; we still have a lot of work to do.
站内的展览将动线设置成直线,让旅客和行人在参观时不耽误赶路。
zhàn nèi de zhǎn lǎn jiāng dòng xiàn shè zhì chéng zhí xiàn , ràng lǚ kè hé háng rén zài cān guàn shí bù dān wù gǎn lù .
The exhibition layout within the venue is designed as a straight path, allowing visitors and pedestrians to view the exhibits without delaying their journey.
通过简单的自查,旅客就能提前规避因充电宝不合规而耽误行程的问题。
tōng guò jiǎn dān de zì chá , lǚ kè jiù néng tí qián guī bì yīn chōng diàn bǎo bù gě guī ér dān wù háng chéng de wèn tí .
By conducting a simple self-check, travelers can avoid delays caused by non-compliant power banks well in advance.
工厂总经理说,在代工模式里,从打样到工程修改到可靠性验证,往往耽误很长时间。
gōng hǎn zǒng jīng lǐ shuō , zài dài gōng mó shì lǐ , cóng dǎ yàng dào gōng chéng xiū gǎi dào kě kào xìng yàn zhèng , wǎng wǎng dān wù hěn cháng shí jiān .
The factory general manager said that in the contract manufacturing model, the process—from prototyping to engineering revisions to reliability testing—often takes a long time.
一旦误食,喝醋、喝浓茶等偏方不仅没用,还可能耽误病情。
yī dàn wù shí , hē cù , hē nóng chá děng piān fāng bù jǐn méi yòng , hái kě néng dān wù bìng qíng .
In the event of accidental ingestion, folk remedies such as drinking vinegar or strong tea are not only ineffective but may also delay proper treatment.
被工程师耽误的排球选手 他组球队引领体保生进科技业
bèi gōng chéng shī dān wù de pái qiú xuǎn shǒu tā zǔ qiú duì yǐn lǐng tǐ bǎo shēng jìn kē jì yè
Volleyball players delayed by engineers He formed a team to lead health care students into the science and technology industry
我被交通堵塞耽搁了。
Wǒ bèi jiāotōngdǔsè dānge le.
I was delayed by a traffic jam.
可以耽误你一点时间吗?
Kěyǐ dānwu nǐ yīdiǎn shíjiān ma?
Do you have a minute?
事故耽误了我们半小时。
Shìgù dānwu le wǒmen bànxiǎoshí.
An accident delayed us for half an hour.
火车因大雪被耽搁了。
Huǒchē yīn dàxuě bèi dānge le.
The train was delayed because of heavy snowfall.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 耳 (ear) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 耽 (dān) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 耽 and 枕?
How many strokes does 耽 have?
What is the radical of 耽?
What are the components of 耽?
What are common words containing 耽?
What characters sound the same as 耽 (dān)?
Is 耽 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 耽 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.