Definition

1. Adjective/Adverb:
   • Hesitant, indecisive, dilly-dallying: Describes a state of wavering, being unable to decide promptly, or lingering over a decision or action.
   • Procrastinating, dawdling: Refers to the act of delaying or taking an unnecessarily long time to do something.

Usage Examples

• Adjective/Adverb:
  • Anh ấy cứ chàng ràng mãi không quyết định được. (He kept hesitating and couldn't make a decision.)
  • Đừng có chàng ràng nữa, chúng ta sắp muộn giờ rồi. (Stop dilly-dallying; we're going to be late.)
  • Cô bé chàng ràng chưa muốn vào lớp. (The little girl was hesitant/dawdling and didn't want to enter the classroom yet.)

Advanced Usage

• "chàng ràng chưa [verb]": A common structure meaning "to hesitate/linger without having done [verb] yet."
  • Nó cứ chàng ràng chưa làm bài tập. (He keeps procrastinating and hasn't done his homework yet.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chần chừ (v): To hesitate, to delay. This is a very close synonym.
  • Đừng chần chừ, hãy quyết định ngay đi. (Don't hesitate; decide right now.)
• Lần khân (adj/adv): Slow, sluggish, taking a long time. Similar in meaning but can imply slowness in action rather than just indecision.
• Do dự (v): To be hesitant, to vacillate. Focuses more on the indecisive mental state.

Synonyms

• Ngập ngừng: To falter, to be hesitant in speech or action.
• Lưỡng lự: To be undecided, to be of two minds.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• Chàng ràng như chão cột trâu: (Idiom, somewhat rustic) Literally "to be entangled like a rope tying a buffalo." It vividly describes a state of being tied up in hesitation or indecision, making no progress.
  • Công việc ấy chàng ràng như chão cột trâu mãi chưa xong. (That task is all tangled up and still not finished.)