拖泥带水
tuō ní dài shuǐ
Pinyin

Definition

拖泥带水
 - 
tuō ní dài shuǐ
  1. lit. wading in mud and water
  2. a slovenly job
  3. sloppy

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

拖
tuō
  1. 1 variant of 拖[tuō]
水
Shuǐ
  1. 1 surname Shui
水平
shuǐ píng
  1. 1 level (of achievement etc)
  2. 2 standard
  3. 3 horizontal
水果
shuǐ guǒ
  1. 1 fruit
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
水瓶座
Shuǐ píng zuò
  1. 1 Aquarius (constellation and sign of the zodiac)
泪水
lèi shuǐ
  1. 1 teardrop
  2. 2 tears
一头雾水
yī tóu wù shuǐ
  1. 1 to be confused
  2. 2 to be baffled
下水
xià shuǐ
  1. 1 downstream
  2. 2 to go into the water
  3. 3 to put into water
  4. 4 to launch (a ship)
  5. 5 fig. to fall into bad ways
  6. 6 to lead astray
  7. 7 to go to pot
下水道
xià shuǐ dào
  1. 1 sewer
冰水
bīng shuǐ
  1. 1 iced water
冷水
lěng shuǐ
  1. 1 cold water
  2. 2 unboiled water
  3. 3 fig. not yet ready (of plans)
出水
chū shuǐ
  1. 1 to discharge water
  2. 2 to appear out of the water
  3. 3 to break the surface
分水岭
fēn shuǐ lǐng
  1. 1 dividing range
  2. 2 drainage divide
  3. 3 (fig.) dividing line
  4. 4 watershed
化妆水
huà zhuāng shuǐ
  1. 1 skin toner
口水
kǒu shuǐ
  1. 1 saliva
土豆泥
tǔ dòu ní
  1. 1 mashed potato
墨水
mò shuǐ
  1. 1 ink
  2. 2 CL:瓶[píng]
大力水手
Dà lì Shuǐ shǒu
  1. 1 Popeye (the Sailor)
大水
dà shuǐ
  1. 1 flood
天水
Tiān shuǐ
  1. 1 Tianshui prefecture level city in Gansu

Idioms (20)

一清如水
yī qīng rú shuǐ
  1. 1 lit. as clear as water (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. (of officials etc) honest and incorruptible
一碗水端平
yī wǎn shuǐ duān píng
  1. 1 lit. to hold a bowl of water level (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to be impartial
一点水一个泡
yī diǎn shuǐ yī gè pào
  1. 1 honest and trustworthy (idiom)
三个和尚没水喝
sān gè hé shang méi shuǐ hē
  1. 1 lit. three monks have no water to drink (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. everybody's business is nobody's business
  3. 3 (If there is one monk, he will fetch water for himself. If there are two, they will fetch water together. But if there are three or more, none will take it upon himself to fetch water.)
不显山不露水
bù xiǎn shān bù lù shuǐ
  1. 1 lit. to not show the mountain and to not reveal the water (idiom); fig. to hide the key facts
人不可貌相，海水不可斗量
rén bù kě mào xiàng , hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng
  1. 1 you can't judge a person by appearance, just as you can't measure the sea with a pint pot (idiom)
人往高处走，水往低处流
rén wǎng gāo chù zǒu , shuǐ wǎng dī chù liú
  1. 1 man seeks his way up just as water seeks its way down (idiom)
  2. 2 one should constantly strive to make progress
似水年华
sì shuǐ nián huá
  1. 1 fleeting years (idiom)
兵来将挡，水来土掩
bīng lái jiàng dǎng , shuǐ lái tǔ yǎn
  1. 1 counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir (idiom); different situations call for different action
  2. 2 to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation
兵来将敌，水来土堰
bīng lái jiàng dí , shuǐ lái tǔ yàn
  1. 1 counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir (idiom); different situations call for different action
  2. 2 to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation
出水芙蓉
chū shuǐ fú róng
  1. 1 as a lotus flower breaking the surface (idiom); surpassingly beautiful (of young lady's face or old gentleman's calligraphy)
出淤泥而不染
chū yū ní ér bù rǎn
  1. 1 lit. to grow out of the mud unsullied (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to be principled and incorruptible
判若云泥
pàn ruò yún ní
  1. 1 as different as heaven and earth (idiom)
  2. 2 worlds apart
十指不沾阳春水
shí zhǐ bù zhān yáng chūn shuǐ
  1. 1 to have no need to fend for oneself (idiom)
  2. 2 to lead a pampered life
半瓶水响叮当
bàn píng shuǐ xiǎng dīng dāng
  1. 1 lit. if you tap a half-empty bottle it makes a sound (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
  3. 3 one who has a little knowledge likes to show off, but one who is truly knowledgeable is modest
吃水不忘掘井人
chī shuǐ bù wàng jué jǐng rén
  1. 1 Drinking the water of a well, one should never forget who dug it. (idiom)
君子之交淡如水
jūn zǐ zhī jiāo dàn rú shuǐ
  1. 1 a gentleman's friendship, insipid as water (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuāng zǐ])
大水冲了龙王庙
dà shuǐ chōng le Lóng Wáng miào
  1. 1 lit. surging waters flooded the Dragon King temple (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to fail to recognize a familiar person
  3. 3 a dispute between close people who fail to recognize each other
如鱼得水
rú yú dé shuǐ
  1. 1 like a fish back in water (idiom); glad to be back in one's proper surroundings
山明水秀
shān míng shuǐ xiù
  1. 1 lit. verdant hills and limpid water (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. enchanting scenery

Sample Sentences

老板开会的时候常常拖泥带水。
lǎobǎn kāihuì de shíhou chángcháng tuōnídàishuǐ 。
The boss always drags the meetings out.
Go to Lesson 
拖泥带水
tuōnídàishuǐ
sloppy
Go to Lesson 
他做事总是拖泥带水。
tā zuòshì zǒngshì tuōnídàishuǐ 。
His work is always sloppy.
Go to Lesson 
他做事又快又好，从不拖泥带水。
tā zuòshì yòu kuài yòu hǎo ，cóngbù tuōnídàishuǐ 。
He does quick and quality work, He doesn't work sloppily.
Go to Lesson 
他在这车水马龙的城市里如鱼得水，因为他从不拖泥带水。
tā zài zhè chēshuǐmǎlóng de chéngshì lǐ rúyúdéshuǐ ，yīnwèi tā cóngbù tuōnídàishuǐ 。
In this bustling city, he is like a fish in water. Because he never works sloppily.
Go to Lesson 
据说都是这样的，免费部分很精彩，看到付费部分就有点儿拖泥带水凑字数了。
jùshuō dōu shì zhèyàng de ，miǎnfèi bùfen hěn jīngcǎi ，kàndào fùfèi bùfen jiù yǒudiǎnr tuōnídàishuǐ còu zìshù le 。
I've heard that they're all like this. The free parts are really great, but when you read the paid parts they're just a muddled mess of words.
Go to Lesson