缓 huǎn slow
slow; gradual; to postpone; to defer
怎么记住“缓”: 纟 silk + 爰 pulling across = slow. Grandma takes her needle and, pulling across the thick wool with a long strand of silk again and again, makes slow progress on the quilt.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
缓 = 纟 silk + 爰 pulling across
- 纟 silk meaning
- 爰 pulling across sound
Grandma takes her needle and, pulling across the thick wool with a long strand of silk again and again, makes slow progress on the quilt.
How it came to be
Silk gives the meaning and the right part the sound.
用法
- 缓 means slow-and-gradual or to postpone, and pairs with 纟-radical cousins like 慢 in tone but is more formal.
- 缓解 huǎnjiě (to relieve/ease, e.g. 缓解压力 relieve stress) and 缓和 huǎnhé (to defuse tension, e.g. 关系缓和了 relations have eased) are the two most useful verbs.
- 延缓 yánhuǎn is 'to defer/delay' something planned, closer to English 'postpone' than 缓 alone.
- 刻不容缓 kèbùrónghuǎn ('cannot brook a moment's delay') is a strong written idiom for urgency.
含“缓”的词语
例句
- 他的笑话缓和了紧张的气氛。 Tāde xiàohuà huǎnhé le jǐnzhāng de qìfēn.His jokes eased the tense atmosphere.