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吐槽 (tǔ cáo) — to roast, to tease humorously; to gripe about (something) in a witty, critical manner

Definition

吐槽 means to roast or gripe about something in a witty, teasing way — lighter and more humorous than 抱怨 or 埋怨, which express genuine complaint. Not related to 烤 (to bake) or 烧 (to burn).

verb
to roastto tease humorouslyto gripe about (something) in a wittycritical manner

Examples

  • ，吐槽。
    Měi cì kàn wán xīn diàn yǐng, wǒ dōu xǐ huan zài péng you quān tǔ cáo jǐ jù.
    Every time I finish watching a new movie, I like to roast it a bit in my Moments.
  • ，吐槽。
    Dà jiā kāi huì de shí hou, tā yì zhí zài tǔ cáo lǐng dǎo de fāng àn.
    During the meeting, he kept making witty complaints about the leader's plan.
  • 吐槽，。
    Bié tǔ cáo le, kuài rèn zhēn zuò shì.
    Stop roasting, just get to work seriously.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

吐tǔspit
槽cáotrough

吐 means to spit out, 槽 is a trough; the image of spitting into a trough gives venting or roasting.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
土
土tǔ吐tǔ
Same sound today

吐 pairs 口, the mouth, with 土, which gives the sound.

Open 吐 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
曹
曹cáo槽cáo
Same sound today

槽 uses 木 (wood) for the meaning and 曹 for the sound, showing a wooden trough or vat.

Open 槽 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Communication & Speech

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