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学舌 (xué shé) — to parrot; to repeat someone's words (often with a gossipy or tattling connotation)

Definition

A colloquial, mildly disapproving verb meaning 'to parrot what someone else said' — repeating words without understanding, often with a gossipy or tattling tone. Negates and modifies like a normal verb (别学舌了).

verb
to parrotto repeat someone's words (often with a gossipy or tattling connotation)

Examples

  • 学舌，。
    Nǐ bié xué shé le, nà shì bié rén de huà.
    Don't parrot; those are other people's words.
  • ，。
    Tā xué le nǐ de shé, dà jiā dōu tīng dào le.
    He parroted your words; everyone heard it.
  • 学舌，。
    Tā xǐ huan xué shé, suǒ yǐ dà jiā dōu bù xiāng xìn tā.
    He likes to parrot, so nobody trusts him.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

学xuélearn
舌shétongue

The part meaning learn combines with 舌, tongue standing for speech, to describe repeating what others say.

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 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

Open 学 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

舌 was drawn as a snake's forked tongue rising from an open mouth.

Open 舌 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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