Definition
徘徊 (pái huái) has three senses: pacing, hesitating, and hovering (of figures/prices). For hesitation, 徘徊 implies physical or mental dithering, while 犹豫 (yóu yù) is purely mental indecision. For fluctuation, 徘徊 suggests staying around a level, whereas 波动 (bō dòng) implies active up-and-down movement.
verb
to pace back and forthto hesitateto dither(of figures, prices, etc.) to fluctuate within a rangeto hover
Examples
- 徘徊，。Tā zài chēzhàn ménkǒu pái huái le hěn jiǔ, hǎoxiàng zài děng shénme rén.He paced back and forth at the station entrance for a long time, as if waiting for someone.
- ，徘徊，。Miàn duì liǎng gè gōngzuò jīhuì, tā pái huái bùjué, bù zhīdào xuǎn nǎge hǎo.Faced with two job offers, he dithered and didn’t know which one to choose.
- 徘徊。Zhège yuè de xiāoshòu é yīzhí zài bābǎi wàn zuǒyòuThis month's sales have been hovering around eight million.
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