贻误

貽誤

yíwù

verb

Meanings

1 to delay and harm
2 to cause adverse delay
3 to mislead and waste

Characters

to leave behind / bequeath

error / mistake

Examples

拖延会贻误病情。

Tuōyán huì yíwù bìngqíng.

Procrastination will worsen the illness.

情报有误，险些贻误战机。

Qíngbào yǒu wù, xiǎnxiē yíwù zhànjī.

The intelligence was wrong and nearly cost us the chance to fight.

Tips

usage

Formal register. Common collocations: 贻误战机 (lose the moment in battle), 贻误病情 (worsen illness through delay), 贻误工作 (impede work). The harm comes from delay or carelessness, not malice.

Stroke Order

贻 yí

误 wù