搞搞 (gǎo gǎo) — to do something casually or tentatively; to tin… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Reduplicated form of 搞 (gǎo) used for casual, light attempts — 'have a go at', 'tinker with' — softer and less serious than plain 搞.

verb

to do something casually or tentativelyto tinker with(colloquial) to mess around withto have a go at

Examples

，搞搞。
Zhōu mò méi shì, wǒ xiǎng zài jiā gǎo gǎo diàn nǎo.
I have nothing to do this weekend, so I want to tinker with the computer at home.
，搞搞。
Zhè ge cài pǔ kàn qǐ lái bú cuò, wǒ men gǎo gǎo shì shì.
This recipe looks good, let's give it a try.
搞搞，。
Nǐ xiān gǎo gǎo zhè ge, wǒ qù chǔ lǐ bié de shì.
You tinker with this first, I'll handle other things.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

搞搞 together gives a casual, tentative sense of doing.

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.

扌高搞

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

高

高gāo搞gǎo

Same sound today

搞 has 扌, a hand, on the left and 高 on the right; the 高 part gives the sound.

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

扌高搞

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

高

高gāo搞gǎo

Same sound today

搞 has 扌, a hand, on the left and 高 on the right; the 高 part gives the sound.

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