延

• 拼音: yán
• 汉字拆解: 延 = 廴 (movement/walk radical — going/stretching outward) + 止 (foot/step variant — combined to show movement that is stretched or prolonged beyond its natural endpoint)

含义

To extend; to stretch out; to prolong; to invite or engage. A formal or literary verb expressing the continuation or lengthening of time, space, or duration.

Often appears as a prefix in formal compounds: 延伸 (to extend/stretch), 延长 (to lengthen/extend time or distance), 延迟 (to delay), 延续 (to continue/sustain), 延误 (to delay with negative consequences). In classical and formal written Chinese, 延 also means to invite or recruit — 延请 = to formally engage or invite an expert or specialist.

例句

1. 为保障全体参赛选手的安全，主办方决定将户外马拉松赛事延至天气条件好转后再行举办。
2. 这条古老驿道向西延伸了数百里，连通了沙漠边缘的多座重要驿站，是古代商贸往来的生命线。
3. 公司高层特别延请了一批业内顶尖专家，对企业的长期发展战略进行全面系统的评估与论证。

用法指南

语境: scheduling, geography, formal writing, HR

语气: neutral

正确说法

• 受不可抗力因素影响，合同规定的交货期限将顺延三十个工作日，双方已就此达成书面补充协议。(Due to force majeure circumstances, the delivery deadline stipulated in the contract will be extended by thirty working days; both parties have reached a written supplementary agreement on this point.)
• 高铁线路正向偏远山区不断延伸，这对于改善当地居民的出行条件和带动区域经济发展具有重要意义。(High-speed rail lines are steadily extending into remote mountain areas, which is of great significance for improving local residents' access to transport and driving regional economic development.)

错误说法

• 我想延你来帮我 — the classical sense of 延 meaning to invite/engage is only used in formal written compounds like 延请; in everyday spoken Chinese use 邀请 or 请 instead; 延 alone as an invitation verb sounds archaic

起源与历史

延 = 廴 (movement/walk radical — suggests going further, extending forward) + 止 (foot variant) — the combined idea of movement that is stretched or prolonged

文化背景

时代: Classical/Modern

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal