躊躇

See also: 踌躇

Chinese

	phonetic
trad. (躊躇)	躊	躇
simp. (踌躇)	踌	躇
alternative forms	躊躕／踌蹰

Etymology

Reduplication with the original form of *du da.

Cognate with 躑躅 (OC *deɡ doɡ), 踟躕 (OC *de do), 彳亍 (OC *tʰeɡ toɡs/tʰoɡ), all meaning "walking slowly or with difficulty > hesitant".

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): chóuchú

(Zhuyin): ㄔㄡˊ ㄔㄨˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): cau⁴ cyu⁴
Eastern Min (BUC): tiù-tṳ̀
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): tiûⁿ-tû / tiû-tû / tiû-tîr / tiû-tî

(Teochew, Peng'im): tiu⁵ tu⁵
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶zeu-zy

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: chóuchú
  - Zhuyin: ㄔㄡˊ ㄔㄨˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: chóuchú
  - Wade–Giles: chʻou²-chʻu²
  - Yale: chóu-chú
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chourchwu
  - Palladius: чоучу (čouču)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰoʊ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: cau⁴ cyu⁴
  - Yale: chàuh chyùh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tsau⁴ tsy⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: ceo⁴ qu⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɐu̯²¹ t͡sʰyː²¹/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: tiù-tṳ̀
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰieu⁵³⁻³³ ^(tʰ-)ly⁵³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tiûⁿ-tû
  - Tâi-lô: tiûnn-tû
  - Phofsit Daibuun: dviu'duu
  - Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /tiũ²⁴⁻²² tu²⁴/
  - Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /tiũ¹³⁻²² tu¹³/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tiû-tû
  - Tâi-lô: tiû-tû
  - Phofsit Daibuun: diu'duu
  - Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /tiu²³⁻³³ tu²³/
  - Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /tiu¹³⁻²² tu¹³/
  - Sinological IPA (Taipei): /tiu²⁴⁻¹¹ tu²⁴/
  - Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /tiu²⁴⁻²² tu²⁴/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tiû-tîr
  - Tâi-lô: tiû-tîr
  - Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /tiu²⁴⁻²² tɯ²⁴/
- (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tiû-tî
  - Tâi-lô: tiû-tî
  - Phofsit Daibuun: diu'dii
  - Sinological IPA (Taipei): /tiu²⁴⁻¹¹ ti²⁴/
  - Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /tiu²³⁻³³ ti²³/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: tiu⁵ tu⁵
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: thiû thû
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiu⁵⁵⁻¹¹ tʰu⁵⁵/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶zeu-zy
  - MiniDict: zeu^去 zy
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³zeu-zr
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /zɤ²² zz̩⁴⁴/

Middle Chinese: drjuw drjo

Rime
Character	躊	躇
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	澄 (11)	澄 (11)
Final (韻)	尤 (136)	魚 (22)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	直由切	直魚切
Baxter	drjuw	drjo
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɖɨu/	/ɖɨʌ/
Pan Wuyun	/ɖiu/	/ɖiɔ/
Shao Rongfen	/ȡiəu/	/ȡiɔ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɖuw/	/ɖɨə̆/
Li Rong	/ȡiu/	/ȡiɔ/
Wang Li	/ȡĭəu/	/ȡĭo/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ȡʱi̯ə̯u/	/ȡʱi̯wo/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	chóu	chú
Expected Cantonese Reflex	cau⁴	cyu⁴

Old Chinese
(Zhengzhang): /*du da/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	躇
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	chuò
Middle Chinese	‹ trhjak ›
Old Chinese	/*tʰrak/
English	jump over, pass over
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	躊	躇
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	11696	16997
Phonetic component	壽	者
Rime group	幽	魚
Rime subdivision	1	0
Corresponding MC rime	儔	除
Old Chinese	/*du/	/*da/

Verb

躊躇

to walk back and forth
to hesitate; to pause
聽完了我的話，老師躊躇了一會兒，才發表他的意見。 [MSC, trad.]
听完了我的话，老师踌躇了一会儿，才发表他的意见。 [MSC, simp.]
Tīng wán le wǒ de huà, lǎoshī chóuchú le yīhuìr, cái fābiǎo tā de yìjiàn. [Pinyin]
After hearing me out, my teacher hesitated for a moment before stating his opinion.
- 耶穌若來，你準備好沒？不通躊躇，著掠住機會！ [Hokkien, trad.]
  耶稣若来，你准备好没？不通踌躇，着掠住机会！ [Hokkien, simp.]
  From: 生命弦 (LifeStrings), 耶稣欲搁来
  Ia-so͘ nā lâi, lí chún-pī hó bōe? M̄-thang tiû-tû, tio̍h lia̍h tiâu ki-hōe! [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]
  If Jesus comes, are you ready yet? Don't hesitate! Hold onto the opportunity!

Synonyms

(to walk back and forth):

edit

彷徨 (pánghuáng)
徘徊
盤旋 / 盘旋 (pánxuán)
盤桓 / 盘桓 (pánhuán)
走來走去 / 走来走去 (zǒuláizǒuqù)
踟躇 (chíchú)
踟躕 / 踟蹰 (chíchú)
躑躅 / 踯躅 (zhízhú)

(to hesitate):

edit

反顧 / 反顾 (fǎngù) (literary)
彳亍 (chìchù) (literary, figurative)
彷徨 (pánghuáng) (figurative)
徘徊 (figurative)
拿不定主意 (nábùdìng zhǔyì)
游移 (yóuyí)
猶疑 / 犹疑 (yóuyí)
猶豫 / 犹豫 (yóuyù)
疑蟯 / 疑蛲 (Zhangzhou Hokkien)
盤桓 / 盘桓 (pánhuán) (figurative)
膩 / 腻 (nyi⁴) (Sichuanese)
踟躇 (chíchú)
踟躕 / 踟蹰 (chíchú)
巡巡 (xúnxún) (literary)
逡巡 (qūnxún) (literary)
遲疑 / 迟疑 (chíyí)

Derived terms

肚裡躊躇 / 肚里踌躇
躊躇不前 / 踌躇不前 (chóuchúbùqián)
躊躇不決 / 踌躇不决
躊躇未決 / 踌躇未决

Adjective

躊躇

(literary) smug; complacent; self-satisfied

Derived terms

躊躇滿志 / 踌躇满志 (chóuchúmǎnzhì)

Related terms

志得意滿／志得意满 (zhìdéyìmǎn)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (躊躇):

→ Japanese: 躊(ちゅう)躇(ちょ) (chūcho)
→ Korean: 주저(躊躇) (jujeo)
→ Vietnamese: trù trừ (躊躇)

References

“躊躇”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2026.

Japanese

Kanji in this term
躊	躇
ちゅう Hyōgai	ちょ Hyōgai
kan'on

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 躊躇 (MC drjuw drjo).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ちゅうちょ [chúꜜùchò] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]
IPA^(key): [t͡ɕɨːt͡ɕo̞]

Noun

躊(ちゅう)躇(ちょ) • (chūcho) ^{←ちうちょ (tiutyo)^?}

hesitation, indecision, wavering

Synonyms

躊躇(ためら)い (tamerai)
遅疑(ちぎ) (chigi)
逡巡(しゅんじゅん) (shunjun)
猶(ゆう)予(よ) (yūyo)

Verb

躊(ちゅう)躇(ちょ)する • (chūcho suru) ^{←ちうちょ (tiutyo)^?}suru (stem 躊(ちゅう)躇(ちょ)し (chūcho shi), past 躊(ちゅう)躇(ちょ)した (chūcho shita))

to hesitate, to be undecided, to waver
- 2011, Barack Obama, 中東と北アフリカに関するバラク・オバマの演説, translation of "Remarks by the President on the Middle East and North Africa":
  躊躇(ちゅうちょ)する訳(わけ)にはゆかないのである
  chūcho suru wake ni wa yukanai no de aru
  we cannot hesitate

Conjugation

Conjugation of "躊躇する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs)
Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	躊躇し	ちゅうちょし	chūcho shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	躊躇し	ちゅうちょし	chūcho shi
Shūshikei ("terminal")	躊躇する	ちゅうちょする	chūcho suru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	躊躇する	ちゅうちょする	chūcho suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	躊躇すれ	ちゅうちょすれ	chūcho sure
Meireikei ("imperative")	躊躇せよ¹ 躊躇しろ²	ちゅうちょせよ¹ ちゅうちょしろ²	chūcho seyo¹ chūcho shiro²
Key constructions
Passive	躊躇される	ちゅうちょされる	chūcho sareru
Causative	躊躇させる躊躇さす	ちゅうちょさせるちゅうちょさす	chūcho saseru chūcho sasu
Potential	躊躇できる	ちゅうちょできる	chūcho dekiru
Volitional	躊躇しよう	ちゅうちょしよう	chūcho shiyō
Negative	躊躇しない	ちゅうちょしない	chūcho shinai
Negative continuative	躊躇せず	ちゅうちょせず	chūcho sezu
Formal	躊躇します	ちゅうちょします	chūcho shimasu
Perfective	躊躇した	ちゅうちょした	chūcho shita
Conjunctive	躊躇して	ちゅうちょして	chūcho shite
Hypothetical conditional	躊躇すれば	ちゅうちょすれば	chūcho sureba

¹ Written imperative
² Spoken imperative

Synonyms

ぐずぐず (guzuguzu)
躊躇(ためら)う (tamerau)
遅疑(ちぎ) (chigi)
逡巡(しゅんじゅん) (shunjun)
猶(ゆう)予(よ) (yūyo)

References

^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

“^▲躊^▲躇”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026
Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja in this term
躊	躇

Noun

躊躇 • (jujeo) (hangeul 주저)

hanja form^? of 주저 (“hesitation”)

[DJR-1] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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