蜗行牛步 snail's pace
Explanation
比喻行动或进展极其缓慢。
It is a metaphor for extremely slow action or progress.
Origin Story
从前，有个叫阿牛的年轻人，他非常懒惰，做什么事都慢吞吞的。村里要修一条水渠，大家都积极参与，只有阿牛磨磨蹭蹭，像蜗牛一样缓慢地搬运石块，像老牛一样慢腾腾地走动。有人劝他快一点，他说：“急什么，反正水渠总能修好。”就这样，他一直蜗行牛步，直到工程结束，他的工作量也比别人少很多，受到大家的批评。后来，阿牛终于明白，做事不能总是蜗行牛步，要抓紧时间，努力工作，才能取得好成绩。
Once upon a time, there was a young man named An Niu who was very lazy and did everything slowly. The village was going to build an irrigation canal, and everyone actively participated, but An Niu moved slowly like a snail and walked slowly like an old cow. Someone advised him to hurry up, but he said, "What's the hurry? The canal will be finished anyway." In this way, he continued to move slowly until the project ended. His workload was much less than others, and he was criticized by everyone. Later, An Niu finally realized that he should not always work slowly, but should seize time, work hard, and achieve good results.
Usage
用作宾语、定语；形容进展缓慢。
Used as an object or attributive; describes slow progress.
Examples
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他做事总是蜗行牛步，效率很低。
ta zuòshì zǒngshì wō xíng niú bù, xiàolǜ hěn dī.
His work is always slow and inefficient.
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工程进度蜗行牛步，令人担忧。
gōngchéng jìndù wō xíng niú bù, lìng rén dānyōu。
The progress of the project is slow and worrying.