支吾 (zhī wú) — to prevaricate, to hem and haw, to be evasive (in speech)

Definition

支吾 (zhīwú) means to hedge or stall verbally — 'hem and haw,' dodge a direct answer. It almost always appears as 支吾着 / 支吾了半天, not as a standalone transitive verb.

verb
to prevaricateto hem and hawto be evasive (in speech)

Examples

  • 支吾，。
    Tā zhī wú le bàn tiān, yě méi shuō chū gè suǒ yǐ rán.
    He hemmed and hawed for a long time but didn't give a clear answer.
  • 支吾，！
    Bié zhī wú le, kuài shuō shí huà!
    Stop hedging, tell the truth!
  • ，支吾。
    Miàn duì zhì wèn, tā zhī wú zhe bù kěn huí dá.
    Facing the questioning, he hedged and refused to answer.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

支 pairs 又 (hand) with 十, a shortened form of 竹 (bamboo), to picture a bamboo branch.

Open 支 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
五
五wǔ吾wú
Same sound today

吾 is built from 口, a mouth, and 五, which gives its sound.

Open 吾 →

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