yán
verb HSK 7-9 #7,698

Meanings

  1. 1 to extend; to prolong
  2. 2 to delay; to postpone

Examples

Huìyì yáncháng le yīgè xiǎoshí.
The meeting was extended by one hour.
Tā de qiānzhèng kěyǐ yánqī ma?
Can his visa be extended?

Tips

usage
is in 延长 (yáncháng, to extend), 延期 (yánqī, to postpone), 延续 (yánxù, to continue), 延迟 (yánchí, to delay), and 蔓延 (mányán, to spread).

Components

radical
chān
long-striding gait
Long-stride radical with an extra inner stroke — picturing a leg taking a stretched step. It is the indexing radical and supplies the core meaning of : motion drawn out across distance or time, giving rise to 'extend, prolong, postpone' and to relatives like (court), (build), (return).
ideograph
丿 piě
left-falling stroke (here a top-stroke marker)
Lone left-falling stroke perched on top — visually marking the head of a stretched-out figure. It is not a meaningful component on its own; it caps the long-stride radical below, helping the parent character look like a person reaching forward in mid-step.

Stroke Order

yán