救救 (jiù jiù) — (verb, reduplicated) to plead for rescue; an ur…

Definition

救救 is the reduplicated, urgent form of 救 ('save, rescue') — used as a desperate cry for help, like shouting 'Help! Save me!' Reduplication here adds urgency, not the soft/playful tone it carries elsewhere.

verb

(verb, reduplicated) to plead for rescuean urgent call for help

Examples

救救！！
jiù jiù! Yǒu rén diào dào hé lǐ le!
Help! Someone fell into the river!
“救救”，。
Tā dà shēng hǎn zhe "jiù jiù wǒ", rán hòu cóng chuán shàng tiào le xià qù.
She shouted "Save me!" and then jumped from the boat.
“救救”，。
Rén men dōu zài hǎn "jiù jiù", dàn jiù yuán duì hái méi dào.
People were all shouting "Help!" but the rescue team hadn't arrived yet.

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.

救jiùsave

Repeating 救 save makes an urgent, pleading call for help.

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

攴攴pū

Sound part声符shēngfú

求

求qiú救jiù

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 救, 求 gives the sound, and 攴 is the action part.

Open 救 →