推迟
tuī chí · HSK 4
to put off
⏰ 推 = push + 迟 = late → push something to be late = postpone
推 (tuī) means push and 迟 (chí) means late or delayed. Together: push the timing later. Compare with 迟到 (chídào, arrive late) which shares the 迟 component for lateness.
推 — hand radical 扌 + 隹 (short-tailed bird)
A semantic-phonetic compound: the hand radical 扌 gives the meaning 'to push' or act with the hand, while 隹 supplies the sound (originally close to 'tui'). The core sense has stayed remarkably stable, expanding from physical pushing to figurative uses like 'recommend' or 'infer'.
迟 — walk radical 辶 + sheep 羊 (phonetic)
迟 combines the walking radical 辶 with 羊 (sheep) as a phonetic clue. The original form depicted slow, lingering movement, giving the core meaning of 'late' or 'slow'. Over time it broadened to cover tardiness in time as well as physical slowness.