犹豫不决

猶豫不決

yóuyù-bùjué

idiom HSK 7-9 #14,190

Meanings

1 hesitant and indecisive
2 unable to make up one's mind
3 to dither

Characters

still; yet (also: a type of monkey)

hesitate (also: a type of elephant)

Literally 'hesitating and unable to decide' - paralyzed by indecision

Examples

HSK 3

面对两份工作，她犹豫不决。

Miànduì liǎng fèn gōngzuò, tā yóuyù-bùjué.

Facing two job offers, she couldn't make up her mind.

HSK 6

他犹豫不决，错过了最好的机会。

Tā yóuyù-bùjué, cuòguò le zuìhǎo de jīhuì.

He was indecisive and missed the best opportunity.

Tips

history

犹 and 豫 originally referred to two animals (a monkey-like creature and an elephant-like creature) known for being cautious and hesitant. Over time, 犹豫 became a compound meaning 'to hesitate.'

usage

犹豫不决 is the emphatic four-character version of 犹豫. Use 犹豫 for mild hesitation and 犹豫不决 when someone is truly stuck and can't decide.

Stroke Order

犹 yóu

豫 yù

不 bù

决 jué