事不宜迟

事不宜遲
shìbù-yíchí
idiom #39,342

Meanings

  1. 1 the matter brooks no delay
  2. 2 there's no time to lose
  3. 3 must be done at once

Examples

HSK 3
Shìbù-yíchí, wǒmen lìkè chūfā!
There's no time to lose. Let's set off right away!
HSK 7-9
Tā juéde shìbù-yíchí, liányè gǎndào xiànchǎng.
Feeling there was no time to waste, he rushed to the scene overnight.

Tips

history
Recorded in the Yuan-dynasty drama 《萧淑兰》 by Jia Zhongming: 'the matter brooks no delay; settle the arrangements and have the matchmaker hurry over.' Common in martial-arts and historical fiction as the cue to act now.

Stroke Order

shì
chí