唠叨 (láo dao) — to talk incessantly; to nag

Definition

唠叨 (láo dao) means to nag or chatter on — the most common spoken word for this. 比啰唆 more about repeating complaints, while 絮叨 emphasizes wordy rambling.

verb

to talk incessantlyto nag

Examples

唠叨，。
Bié láo dao le, wǒ yǐ jīng zhī dào le.
Stop nagging, I already know.
唠叨，。
Tā zǒng ài láo dao, méi rén xǐ huan tīng.
She always chatters; no one likes to listen.
唠叨。
Tā yì biān gōng zuò yì biān láo dao gè bù tíng.
He chatters nonstop while working.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 嘮; 唠 is its simplified writing.

口勞嘮

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

勞

勞láo嘮lào

Same sound today

The traditional form 嘮 puts 口 (mouth) beside 勞, which gives the sound. The simplified 唠 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 唠 →

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

口刀叨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

刀

刀dāo叨dāo

Same sound today

叨 combines 口, the mouth part, with 刀, the sound part.

Open 叨 →

Appears in