怠 (dài) is a Chinese character meaning “idle”. It is written from 台 (platform; terrace (in 冶 and 苔 it carries the sound)) and 心 (heart; mind), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “lazy; slack”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
台 + 心
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字（怠，慢也。从心台聲）；现代字形拆分 IDS ⿱台心，笔画核验 台5 + 心4 = 9
Memory aid
A heart (心) lounging up on a platform (台): it just sits there and does nothing — slacking off.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 懈怠xiè dàislack; lax; to slack off怠 = dài
- 怠慢dài mànto neglect; to treat coldly; to slight怠 = dài
Go deeper
All readings
lazy; slack
idle; lazy; slack; to neglect; to treat coldly
懒惰、松懈；也指对人冷淡、不周到。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 懈怠xiè dàislack; lax; to slack off怠 = dài
- 怠慢dài mànto neglect; to treat coldly; to slight怠 = dài
Sound component
台 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 怠 mean?
怠 (dài) means idle; lazy; slack; to neglect; to treat coldly.
How do you pronounce 怠?
It is pronounced dài.
What parts is 怠 made of?
台 (platform; terrace (in 冶 and 苔 it carries the sound)) and 心 (heart; mind), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字（怠，慢也。从心台聲）；现代字形拆分 IDS ⿱台心，笔画核验 台5 + 心4 = 9. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 怠 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 怠?
心. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 怠?
Common ones are 懈怠 and 怠慢. The reading of 怠 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.