慢慢吞吞 màn màn tūn tūn slowly and hesitantly

Explanation

形容动作缓慢，做事拖拉，效率低下的样子。

Describes slow movements and procrastination, indicating low efficiency.

Origin Story

从前，有一个叫小明的孩子，他做什么事情都慢吞吞的。有一天，老师布置了一篇作文，要同学们写一篇关于秋天的作文。同学们都很快地完成了作业，只有小明，他磨磨蹭蹭了好久，才写好了一小段。老师叫他加快速度，可是他还是慢吞吞的，最后，他的作文只写了一点点。老师批评了他，让他下次要改掉这个坏习惯，要认真完成作业，不要再慢慢吞吞的了。小明听了老师的批评后，他觉得很惭愧，他下定决心要改掉这个坏习惯。从那以后，他做事比以前快多了，学习成绩也提高了。

cóng qián, yǒu yīgè jiào xiǎo míng de háizi, tā zuò shénme shì qing dōu màn tūn tūn de. yǒu yī tiān, lǎo shī bù zhì le yī piān zuò wén, yào tóng xué men xiě yī piān guānyú qiū tiān de zuò wén. tóng xué men dōu hěn kuài de wán chéng le zuò yè, zhǐ yǒu xiǎo míng, tā mó mo cèng cèng le hǎo jiǔ, cái xiě hǎo le yī xiǎo duàn. lǎo shī jiào tā jiā kuài sù dù, kěshì tā hái shì màn tūn tūn de, zuì hòu, tā de zuò wén zhǐ xiě le yī diǎn diǎn. lǎo shī pīpíng le tā, ràng tā xià cì yào gǎi diào zhège huài xí guàn, yào rèn zhēn wán chéng zuò yè, bù yào zài màn màn tūn tūn de le. xiǎo míng tīng le lǎo shī de pīpíng hòu, tā jué de hěn cán kuì, tā xià dìng jué xīn yào gǎi diào zhège huài xí guàn. cóng nà yǐ hòu, tā zuò shì bǐ yǐ qián kuài duō le, xué xí chéng jì yě tí gāo le.

Once upon a time, there was a child named Xiaoming who did everything slowly. One day, the teacher assigned an essay, asking the students to write about autumn. Everyone finished their homework quickly, except Xiaoming, who dawdled for a long time before finishing a small section. The teacher told him to speed up, but he was still slow, and in the end, his essay was only a little bit long. The teacher criticized him and told him to change his bad habit and complete his homework seriously next time. After hearing the teacher's criticism, Xiaoming felt ashamed and decided to change his bad habit. From then on, he was much faster in doing things, and his grades improved.

Usage

用作谓语、定语、状语；多用于形容做事或动作。

yòng zuò wèi yǔ, dìng yǔ, zhuàng yǔ; duō yòng yú xíngróng zuò shì huò dòng zuò

Used as predicate, attributive, or adverbial; mostly used to describe actions or movements.

Examples

• 他做事总是慢慢吞吞的，效率很低。

  tā zuò shì zǒng shì màn màn tūn tūn de, xiào lǜ hěn dī

  He always does things slowly and inefficiently.

• 不要慢慢吞吞的，时间来不及了！

  bú yào màn màn tūn tūn de, shí jiān lái bu jí le

  Don't dawdle, we're running out of time!

Related Idioms

• 磨磨蹭蹭

• 拖拖拉拉

Opposite Idioms

• 雷厉风行

• 迅速