How to Write 耽 (dān) — Meaning “delay; indulge in”

Imagine you have a big ear (耳) that keeps hearing a fun sound, so you "dawdle" and delay everything. The sound is like "dān" which rhymes with "dawn" — you indulge in sleeping until dawn, causing delay.

Write the left radical 耳 first (6 strokes: horizontal, vertical, horizontal, horizontal, horizontal, vertical fold), then the right part 冘 (4 strokes: left-falling, horizontal fold hook, left-falling, vertical curved hook). A common mistake is confusing the right part with 尤 (yóu) — note that 冘 has a horizontal fold hook after the first stroke, not a horizontal curve.

Visually, 耽 has 耳 on the left and 冘 on the right, while 耵 has 耳 on the left and 丁 (a simple nail shape) on the right, and 耶 has 耳 on the left and 阝 (a variant of city radical) on the right. In meaning, 耽 is about delay or indulgence, 耵 is a rare character for earwax, and 耶 is a grammatical particle or surname.

耽 appears commonly in the word 耽误 (dānwù) meaning "to delay" (e.g., 别耽误时间 — don't waste time). Another common word is 耽搁 (dāngē) for "to stop over" or "to delay." The expression 耽于 (dānyú) is more formal and means "to indulge in" (e.g., 耽于享乐 — indulge in pleasure), often carrying a negative tone of excessive focus.

Common words containing 耽 include: 耽误 (dān wù) — to delay; to hold up; 耽搁 (dān gē) — to delay; to stop over; 耽于 (dān yú) — to indulge in; to be addicted to.