事不宜迟

事不宜遲
shìbùyíchí
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

Shìbùyíchí, wǒmen lìkè chūfā!
There's no time to lose — let's set off right away!
Tā juéde shìbùyíchí, liányè gǎn dào xiànchǎng.
Feeling there was no time to waste, he rushed to the scene overnight.

Tips

history
Recorded in the Yuan-dynasty drama 《》 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