磨叽

磨嘰
mòji
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 to dawdle
  2. 2 to dilly-dally
  3. 3 to waste time being slow

Examples

HSK 1
Bié mòji le, kuài zǒu ba.
Stop dawdling - let's get going.
HSK 2
Tā zuòshì tèbié mòji.
He's really slow at getting things done.
HSK 2
Mòji yí shàngwǔ, shénme yě méi gànchéng.
Dawdled all morning and got nothing done.

Tips

register
Northeast dialect, now widely understood. There is a same-sounding variant 墨迹, interchangeable in online writing. Implies irritating slowness, not just being careful.
mistakes
here is toneless (neutral tone). Don't confuse with 磨蹭, a near-synonym from standard Mandarin - 磨叽 feels more earthy and complaining.

Stroke Order