哇啦 (wā la) — (onomatopoeia) hullabaloo, uproar, loud and chaotic noise (especially of voices)

Definition

An onomatopoeia for a loud, chaotic babble of voices — the noisy chatter or uproar of a group of people. Often reduplicated (哇啦哇啦) to intensify the sound.

onomatopoeia
hullabaloouproarloud and chaotic noise (especially of voices)

Examples

  • 哇啦，。
    Wài miàn wā la yí piàn, bù zhī dào fā shēng le shén me shì.
    Outside there was a hullabaloo — no idea what happened.
  • 哇啦，。
    Tā men wā la dì shuō gè bù tíng, chǎo dé wǒ tóu téng.
    They kept talking noisily, giving me a headache.
  • 哇啦，。
    Jiào shì lǐ wā la de, lǎo shī jìn lái cái ān jìng xià lái.
    The classroom was in an uproar; it only quieted down when the teacher came in.

Origin

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kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
圭
圭guī哇wa
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

哇 pairs 口 (mouth) with 圭 to show its sound. The 圭 part originally drew a pair of ritual axes.

Open 哇 →

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
拉
拉lā啦la
Same sound today

啦 pairs 口 (mouth) with 拉, which gives the pronunciation lā. The 口 part points to the mouth.

Open 啦 →

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