打官腔 (dǎ guān qiāng) — to talk like a bureaucrat, to use bureaucratic jargon (often evasively)

Definition

To speak in evasive bureaucratic jargon — saying a lot while answering nothing. Often used to criticize officials or leaders who dodge real questions.

verb
to talk like a bureaucratto use bureaucratic jargon (often evasively)

Examples

  • 打官腔，。
    Bié gēn wǒ dǎ guān qiāng, zhí jiē shuō xíng bu xíng.
    Don't give me bureaucratic talk — just say yes or no.
  • ，。
    Tā dǎ le yì tōng guān qiāng, shén me wèn tí yě méi jiě jué.
    He gave a whole bureaucratic speech and didn't solve any problem.
  • 打官腔，。
    Lǐng dǎo yòu zài dǎ guān qiāng le, dà jiā dōu bú nài fán.
    The boss is talking bureaucratically again — everyone's getting impatient.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

打dǎproduce
官腔official tone
官guānofficial腔qiāngtone
偏正Modifier + head

打 gives the sense of producing, and 官 and 腔 give the official tone, together meaning to speak like a bureaucrat.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 宀宀mián
  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤

官 pairs 宀, a roof, with 𠂤, rooms beneath it, to depict an official building.

Open 官 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

腔 is made from 肉 (meat; flesh) plus 空 (empty; hollow), where 空 supplies the sound.

Open 腔 →

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