Definition
耗 (hào) means to consume or use up resources (time, energy, money) in a process, often neutrally. Unlike 浪费 (wasteful squandering) or 消费 (spending money on purchases), 耗 focuses on gradual depletion. Its colloquial sense 'to delay / dilly-dally' (as in 别跟我耗) is a distinct meaning not shared by its near-synonyms.
verb
to consumeto spendto waste (resources like time, energy, money)(colloquial) to delayto dilly-dallyto drag out
Easily confused
- 耕gēnglook-aliketo plow, to till
- 好hǎosound-alikegood
- 好hàosound-aliketo like, to be fond of
- 号hàosound-alike(classifier) used with numbers to indicate order, dates, or quantity of people
Examples
- 耗。Zhè tái lǎo jīqì hěn hào diàn.This old machine consumes a lot of electricity.
- 耗。Tā měitiān pǎobù hào hěn duō tǐlì.He runs every day and expends a lot of physical energy.
- 耗，！Bié gēn wǒ hào, mǎshàng kāishǐ gōngzuò!Don't dilly-dally with me; start working right away!
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