蹉跎

蹉跎

1. (literary) to slip and fall; to miss one's step

   • 夫賢聖歿而大義分，蹉跎殊趨，各自開門。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     夫贤圣殁而大义分，蹉跎殊趋，各自开门。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Wang Chong, Lun Heng (Discussive Weighing), 80 CE

     Fú xiánshèng mò ér dàyì fēn, cuōtuó shū qū, gèzì kāimén. [Pinyin]

     The worthies and sages are dead, and their great doctrine has split up. Many new roads have been struck out, on which many people have stumbled.

2. (literary) to miss an opportunity
3. (literary) to decline; to deteriorate; to degenerate
4. (literary) to be frustrated; to be disheartened; to be disappointed
5. to idle away the time; to waste time