慢
màn
Why "slow" becomes "take your time with the meal"
The picture The same distance drawn out, moving over more time than it needs to. 慢 draws the distance out over more time; 快 covers it in less.
Where the picture shows up in 慢
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speech drawn out
您说得慢一点，我听不懂。
nín shuō de màn yì diǎn, wǒ tīng bu dǒng.
Could you speak more slowly? I can't follow.
A mouth saying one phrase, drawing breath, then starting the next
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a screen drawn out
这里的网很慢，打不开网页。
zhè lǐ de wǎng hěn màn, dǎ bu kāi wǎng yè.
The internet here is slow — the page won't load.
A spinning circle turning and turning over an empty page
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a watch dragging behind
我的手表慢了五分钟。
wǒ de shǒu biǎo màn le wǔ fēn zhōng.
My watch is five minutes slow.
A wristwatch hand sitting one notch behind the wall clock's
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drawing out someone's time for them
您慢用，有事叫我。
nín màn yòng, yǒu shì jiào wǒ.
Take your time. Call me if you need anything.
A server setting down a dish, stepping back and folding their hands
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work drawn out
他做事很慢，但很仔细。
tā zuò shì hěn màn, dàn hěn zǐ xì.
He works slowly, but very carefully.
One line written, then checked again from the top with a finger tracing it
All of it in one picture
慢 is time being drawn out. Draw out speech and there's room to follow it; draw out a screen and the connection is slow; draw out a watch and it runs five minutes behind; draw out someone's meal for them and it's "take your time"; draw out the work and the person is thorough.