迟 meaning and stroke order
Late; delayed; slow
How to write 迟, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Meaning of 迟
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- late
- delayed
- slow
How 迟 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Walk.
辶 gives the meaning and 尺 hints at the sound.
Radical: 辶 (to walk), shared by 131 characters on this site.
How to remember 迟
迟 is pictophonetic: the walking radical 辶 gives the meaning of movement, and 尺 (chǐ, ruler) gives the sound. Picture someone walking so slowly you could measure each step with a ruler, so they end up late.
迟 rarely stands alone in speech and usually appears in words like 迟到 (chídào, to arrive late), 推迟 (tuīchí, to postpone) and 迟早 (chízǎo, sooner or later). Example: 他今天又迟到了。(Tā jīntiān yòu chídào le.) He was late again today.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up the tones of 迟 (chí) and its phonetic part 尺 (chǐ), saying chǐdào instead of chídào. Also keep 迟 apart from 晚 (wǎn): 晚 is the everyday word for late in the day, as in 很晚了 (hěn wǎn le, it's late), while 迟 is about being behind schedule.
Common words with 迟
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
迟 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 迟
How many strokes are in 迟?
迟 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 迟 mean?
迟 (chí) means late; delayed; slow. A common word with it is 迟到 (chídào), meaning "to arrive late".
How do you pronounce 迟?
迟 is pronounced chí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 迟?
The radical of 迟 is 辶, which carries the idea of "to walk". Dictionaries list 迟 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 迟?
The traditional form of 迟 is 遲. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 迟 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 迟 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 迟 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What is the difference between 推迟 and 延迟?
Both mean to delay or postpone. 推迟 (tuīchí) is the common choice for rescheduling events, like 推迟会议 (postpone a meeting). 延迟 (yánchí) often describes something being delayed or lagging, such as flights or network latency.
How do you say 'better late than never' with 迟?
A common saying is 迟做总比不做好 (chí zuò zǒng bǐ bú zuò hǎo), meaning doing it late is always better than not doing it. You will also hear 晚到总比不到好 with the same idea.