溜掉 (liū diào) — to slip away unnoticed; to sneak away

Definition

A verb meaning to slip or sneak away without being noticed, often deliberately. The -掉 emphasizes successful completion of the escape.

verb
to slip away unnoticedto sneak away

Examples

  • 溜掉。
    Xiǎo tōu cóng hòu mén liū diào le.
    The thief slipped away from the back door.
  • 溜掉。
    Tā chèn dà jiā bú zhù yì liū diào le.
    He slipped away while no one was paying attention.
  • 溜掉。
    Nà zhī māo cóng chuāng kǒu liū diào le.
    That cat slipped away through the window.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

溜liūslip
掉diàooff or away

溜 means slip and 掉 means off or away, so the word is slipping away.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
留
留liú溜liù
Same sound today

The left part 氵 shows water; the right part 留 gives the sound. The evidence connects 溜 to a river name.

Open 溜 →

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
卓
卓zhuó掉diào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

掉 is built from 扌 (a hand) and 卓, which gives the pronunciation.

Open 掉 →

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