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干巴巴 (gān bā bā) — (adjective) dry, arid, insipid (of writing, speech, or objects); (adverb) directly, bluntly, without further ado

Definition

A reduplicated adjective (often as 〜的) for something dull and lifeless — flat writing, dry fruit, a bland talk. Used as 〜地 to mean 'flatly, without ceremony' when describing how someone speaks.

adjective
dryaridinsipid (of writing, speech, or objects)
adverb
directlybluntlywithout further ado

Examples

  • 干巴巴，。
    Zhè piān wén zhāng xiě dé gān bā bā de, yì diǎn yì si dōu méi yǒu.
    This article is written in such a dry way that it's completely uninteresting.
  • 干巴巴：‘。’
    Tā gān bā bā dì shuō: 'bù xíng.'
    He said flatly, 'No.'
  • ，干巴巴。
    Zhè zhǒng shuǐ guǒ fàng jiǔ le, chī qǐ lái gān bā bā de.
    This kind of fruit has been sitting too long; it tastes dry and bland.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

干gāndry
巴巴
巴bā巴bā
重叠Reduplication

干 gives the sense of dry, and 巴巴 makes the description vivid and somewhat stark.

Characters in this word

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 巴 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 巴 →
Appears in
Texture & Quality

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