吞吞吐吐 (tūn tūn tǔ tǔ) — hesitant and mumbling in speech; evasive; to hum and haw
Definition
Describes speech that comes out in broken, hesitant spurts because the speaker is hiding something or afraid to speak plainly. Related to 闪烁其词, but 闪烁其词 points to the speaker's evasive intent, while 吞吞吐吐 highlights the halting, mumbling delivery.
adjective
hesitant and mumbling in speechevasiveto hum and haw
Examples
- 吞吞吐吐，。Tā shuō huà zǒng shì tūn tūn tǔ tǔ de, zhēn ràng rén zháo jí.He always mumbles and hesitates when he speaks — it's really frustrating.
- 吞吞吐吐，。Bié tūn tūn tǔ tǔ de, yǒu shén me huà jiù zhí shuō.Stop being evasive — just say what you have to say directly.
- 吞吞吐吐，。Tā tūn tūn tǔ tǔ dì huí dá jǐng chá de wèn tí, xiǎn de hěn kě yí.He answered the police officer's questions hesitantly, which seemed very suspicious.
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.
吞 and 吐 are repeated to suggest hesitating between swallowing and spitting words.
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