耽 (dān) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

耽

dān[dan1]Tone 1

to indulge in, to delay

HSK 7

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to indulge in, to delay

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left ear component (耳) slightly narrower and taller, and balance it with the right component (眈's right side) which represents looking or waiting, ensuring both halves share the vertical centerline harmoniously.

1. Meaning

to indulge in or to delay

to waste timeto neglect

VerbFormalBound morpheme#time#behavior#attitude

Sample Usage

耽误
dān wu
to delay, to hold up
耽于安乐
dān yú ān lè
to indulge in comfort and pleasure

2. Sound

/[tan⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

耽

dāndan1

¯(55)

=dān

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

dan

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "a" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolar

Sounds like: d sound as in 'dog'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No puff of air. Tissue remains still (sounds like English 't' in 'stop').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touching the alveolar ridge behind the upper front teeth

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -an rhymes with 'on' or 'un' in 'bun'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ahn'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 stays flat and high, like a musical note sustained at the top of your vocal range without rising or falling.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the dental 'd' initial with a retroflex 'zh' or alveolar 't', or dropping the nasal ending '-an' into a pure vowel.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 1 is a high, steady flat line. Raise your hand flat at eye level and draw a straight horizontal line from left to right, matching the unchanging high pitch of your voice.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

4. Components

Radical 耳 · Ear Radical (Ear)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 耳 (Relates to listening, attention, or perception)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 冘 (original sound: yín / dān)

The character combines the Ear radical (耳) on the left with the phonetic/semantic component (冘) on the right, depicting someone whose ears or attention are lingering or delayed in a certain place.

耳 Ear, denoting sensory focus or listening
冘 Component indicating hesitation, lingering, or moving slowly

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

8· Phonetic Root: 冘 (yín)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed to represent the idea of lingering, hesitating, or being held up. The ear radical suggests a state of listening or being caught by something, leading to the meaning of delay or indulgence.

Semantic Evolution: From ancient meanings of lingering and delay, it extended to becoming deeply absorbed or indulging in pleasures (such as 耽误 and 耽于), where time is lost or delayed.

Often found in classical Chinese texts describing people lingering too long in idle pursuits.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: タン

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

탐

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

With your EAR (耳) lingering and hesitating (冘) at the door, you DELAY your departure because you INDULGE in listening to the music a bit longer.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

冘

yínto go forward; to advancePhonetic Core (声旁)

枕

zhěn(bound form) pillow; to rest one's head on (Taiwan pr. [zhen4])+ 木 (tree)

忱

chénsincerity; honesty+ 忄 (heart)

沈

shěnsurname Shen+ 氵 (water)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

眈(dān)

耽 has the Ear radical (耳) for delay/indulgence, while 眈 has the Eye radical (目) for glaring or staring covetously.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我们不要在这里[___]时间了，快走吧！

Clue: dān

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 耽 (dān - delay/indulge) with 眈 (dān - stare/glare) due to the identical right-hand phonetic component.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 耽, what are its two primary English glosses?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to delay / to indulge in' (dān) using the Ear radical?

耽dānto indulge in, to delay

Speed:

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