延误

• Pinyin: yán wù
• Hanzi breakdown: 延 = 廴 + 止 (prolonged movement); 误 = 讠(speech radical) + 吾 (I/my — phonetic; originally a verbal mistake, extended to mean error or harmful delay)

Meaning

To delay; to hold up; to cause a damaging or consequential delay. Implies that the delay has resulted in or risks causing a negative outcome.

Typically refers to delays with serious consequences: 延误航班 (flight delay), 延误病情 (delaying treatment causing harm), 延误战机 (missing a strategic window). Stronger and more negative than 延迟 (neutral postponement) or 延缓 (deliberate slowing). Often implies fault or blame — someone or something has caused the delay and harm has resulted.

Examples

1. 由于关键零部件供应严重短缺，整条生产线被迫停工，直接导致多批订单的交付时间延误长达数周。 Because of a severe shortage of key components, the entire production line was forced to shut down, directly causing delivery delays of several weeks for multiple orders.
2. 患者因轻视早期症状而迟迟未就医，延误了最佳治疗时机，给后续康复带来了相当大的困难。 The patient dismissed the early symptoms and put off seeing a doctor, missing the best window for treatment and making subsequent recovery much more difficult.
3. 航空公司因恶劣天气宣布多条航线大面积延误，旅客们在候机厅内焦急等待，现场秩序混乱。 Due to severe weather, the airline announced widespread flight delays; passengers waited anxiously in the terminal, and the scene became chaotic.

Usage Guide

Context: transport, medicine, business, news

Tone: serious

Do Say

• 相关部门在审批环节存在严重的拖延现象，造成多个重点民生工程延误数月，引发了社会各界的广泛关注和强烈批评。(Serious delays in the approvals process at the relevant departments caused several key public welfare projects to be held up for months, drawing widespread public concern and sharp criticism from all quarters of society.)
• 医疗人员在急救现场迅速评估伤者状况，分秒必争地实施处置措施，力求避免因任何延误而给伤者造成不可逆的损害。(Medical personnel on the emergency scene swiftly assessed the casualties' condition and implemented treatment measures with every second counting, striving to avoid any delay that might cause irreversible harm.)

Don't Say

• 今天有点延误地到了办公室 — 延误 implies a significant, consequential delay with negative results, not mere casual lateness; for being slightly late to work use 迟到 or 稍晚了一点

Origin & History

延 (to extend/prolong) + 误 (mistake/error/to delay) — to prolong something erroneously, causing missed opportunities or harm

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal