拖泥帶水

Chinese

		dragging (brush stroke in painting); to drag along	restrained; mud; paste restrained; mud; paste; pulp	band; belt; girdle band; belt; girdle; ribbon; area; zone; region; wear; carry; lead; bring; consists of; show; and	water; river
trad. (拖泥帶水)		拖	泥	帶	水
simp. (拖泥带水)		拖	泥	带	水

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tuōnídàishuǐ

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄨㄛ ㄋㄧˊ ㄉㄞˋ ㄕㄨㄟˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): to¹ nai⁴ daai³ seoi²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tuōnídàishuǐ
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄨㄛ ㄋㄧˊ ㄉㄞˋ ㄕㄨㄟˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tuonídàishuěi
    • Wade–Giles: tʻo¹-ni²-tai⁴-shui³
    • Yale: twō-ní-dài-shwěi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tuonidayshoei
    • Palladius: тонидайшуй (tonidajšuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰu̯ɔ⁵⁵ ni³⁵ taɪ̯⁵¹ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: to¹ nai⁴ daai³ seoi²
    • Yale: tō nàih daai séui
    • Cantonese Pinyin: to¹ nai⁴ daai³ soey²
    • Guangdong Romanization: to¹ nei⁴ dai³ sêu²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰɔː⁵⁵ nɐi̯²¹ taːi̯³³ sɵy̯³⁵/

Idiom

拖泥帶水

1. (derogatory) to do something in a long-drawn or slovenly manner; to be indecisive or beat about the bush