磨叽

磨嘰
mòji
verb

Meanings

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

Examples

Bié mòji le, kuài zǒu ba.
Stop dawdling — let's get going.
Tā zuò shì tèbié mòji.
He's really slow at getting things done.
Mòji yí shàngwǔ, shénme yě méi gàn chéng.
Dawdled all morning and got nothing done.

Tips

register
Northeast dialect, now widely understood. CC-CEDICT notes the variant 墨迹 (mòjì) — same sound, interchangeable spelling online. Implies irritating slowness, not just being careful.
mistakes
here is toneless (neutral tone). Don't confuse with 磨蹭 (móceng), a near-synonym from standard Mandarin — 磨叽 feels more earthy and complaining.

Stroke Order