HSK 6 · Adjectives

迟缓 chíhuǎn “slow” in Chinese

Traditional 遲緩

What 迟缓 means

  1. slow
  2. sluggish

How to say 迟缓

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale迟chí2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale缓huǎn3rd tone, dipping

迟缓 in a sentence

  1. 老人的动作越来越迟缓。

    Lǎorén de dòngzuò yuèláiyuè chíhuǎn.

    The old man’s movements are getting slower and slower.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 工程进展迟缓。

    Gōngchéng jìnzhǎn chíhuǎn.

    Progress on the project is slow.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 迟缓 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 迟 (chí) with each of its parts in a different colour
迟chílate
  • 尺part of the characterSound part
  • 辶walking form of 辵 · chuòMeaning part
The character 缓 (huǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
缓huǎnslow
  • 纟silk form of 糸 · mìMeaning part
  • 爰to lead on to · yuánSound part

纟 hints at the meaning (silk); 爰 (yuán) hints at the sound. Compare it with huǎn.

How to write 迟缓

迟 7 strokes · 缓 12 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

迟缓 (chíhuǎn) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 迟缓 (chíhuǎn). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 迟缓

Words with 迟

迟到chídào · arrive late推迟tuīchí · to postpone迟早chízǎo · sooner or later迟疑chíyí · to hesitate迟钝chídùn · slow-witted

Words with 缓

缓解huǎnjiě · to bring relief缓和huǎnhé · to ease刻不容缓kèbùrónghuǎn · extremely urgent

More words: Adjectives

沉闷chénmèn · oppressive沉重chénzhòng · heavy沉着chénzhuó · calm and collected迟钝chídùn · slow-witted持久chíjiǔ · lasting吃力chīlì · strenuous崇高chónggāo · lofty充沛chōngpèi · abundant

FAQs

迟缓 (chíhuǎn) means “slow” or “sluggish”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it chíhuǎn: chí with a 2nd tone, then huǎn with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 迟缓 is written 遲緩. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type chihuan with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 迟缓 from the suggestions. Typing chihuan into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
迟缓 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.