偷懒

• Pinyin: tōu lǎn
• Hanzi breakdown: 偷 = 亻(person) + 俞 — to steal; 懒 = 忄(heart) + 赖 — lazy

Meaning

To slack off; to be lazy; to shirk work; to take shortcuts.

To avoid work or responsibility, often by finding ways to do less while appearing to work. Can be mildly critical or humorous depending on context. Universal experience in workplaces and schools.

Examples

1. 趁老板不在，员工们都开始偷懒刷手机。 While the boss was away, the employees all started slacking off and scrolling their phones.
2. 这道菜你明显偷懒了，连调料都没放够。 You obviously cut corners on this dish — you didn't even add enough seasoning.
3. 学习不能偷懒，基础没打好以后会吃亏的。 You can't slack off when studying — if you don't build a solid foundation, you'll regret it later.

Usage Guide

Context: work, study, daily life

Tone: critical or humorous

Do Say

• 别偷懒。(Don't slack off.)
• 想偷懒。(Want to take it easy.)

Don't Say

• 把合理休息叫'偷懒' (Taking proper breaks is not 偷懒 — don't conflate rest with laziness)

Origin & History

偷 means to steal/secretly, 懒 means lazy — to secretly be lazy.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal