偷懒

偷懶

tōulǎn

verb HSK 7 #11,910

Meanings

Literally 'to steal laziness' — sneaking in some laziness when you should be working.

Bié tōulǎn, kuài xiě zuòyè.

Don't slack off, hurry up and do your homework.

Tā zǒngshì chèn lǎobǎn bú zài tōulǎn.

He always slacks off when the boss isn't around.

Xuéxí bù néng tōulǎn.

You can't cut corners when studying.

memory

Think of 偷懒 as 'stealing lazy time' — you're sneakily taking time off. The 偷 adds a sense of guilt, like you know you shouldn't be doing it.

偷 tōu

懒 lǎn