踟蹰

踟躕

chíchú

verb #92,595

Meanings

1 to hesitate
2 to waver
3 to hover, unable to make up one's mind

Characters

to hesitate; to pace

Examples

HSK 3

她在路口踟蹰了一会儿。

Tā zài lùkǒu chíchú le yíhuìr.

She hesitated at the crossroads for a moment.

HSK 7-9

面对两个工作机会，他踟蹰再三，迟迟没有回复。

Miànduì liǎng ge gōngzuò jīhui, tā chíchú zàisān, chíchí méiyou huífù.

Faced with two job offers, he wavered again and again and kept putting off his reply.

Tips

usage

Literary; speech says 犹豫. Also written 踟躇, with the same reading. Common in 踟蹰不前 'to hesitate and not go forward'.

history

An old word: in the Han ballad 《陌上桑》 the magistrate's carriage halts, 五马立踟蹰 'his five horses stand hesitating', stopped short by the beauty of Luo Fu.

Stroke Order

踟 chí

蹰 chú