偷偷 (tōu tōu) — stealthily; secretly; on the sly

Definition

Reduplicated adverb meaning 'on the sly' — always placed directly before a verb, often with 地. Compared with 悄悄, it focuses on secrecy (not being seen/caught), while 悄悄 emphasizes silence (not being heard).

adverb

stealthilysecretlyon the sly

Examples

偷偷。
Tā tōu tōu de kàn le wǒ yì yǎn.
He took a stealthy glance at me.
偷偷。
Tā tōu tōu bǎ lǐ wù fàng zài zhuō shàng le.
She secretly put the gift on the table.
偷偷，。
Bié tōu tōu ná bié rén de dōng xī, nà bú duì.
Don't take other people's things on the sly — that's not right.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

偷tōusecretly

The two 偷 together express doing something secretly.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

亻俞偷

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

俞

俞yú偷tōu

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 亻, a standing person, points to the idea of someone doing the act, while the right part 俞 gives the character its sound.

Open 偷 →