叨唠 (dāo lao) — to talk on and on; to nag

Definition

叨唠 means to nag or talk on and on at someone, often repetitively and annoyingly. It implies pestering the listener (e.g., 别叨唠了), more critical and persistent than just 'chatting'.

verb
to talk on and onto nag

Examples

  • 叨唠，。
    Tā zǒng ài dāo lao, yì shuō jiù shì bàn tiān.
    She always loves to nag; once she starts talking, it goes on for half a day.
  • 叨唠，。
    Bié dāo lao le, wǒ zhī dào le.
    Stop nagging, I know.
  • 叨唠，。
    Tā zhěng tiān dāo lao gè bù tíng, ràng rén hěn fán.
    He nags all day without stopping, which is very annoying.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

叨dāotalk
唠làochat

叨 and 唠 both mean talk or chatter, so together they describe persistent, nagging speech.

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
刀
刀dāo叨dāo
Same sound today

叨 combines 口, the mouth part, with 刀, the sound part.

Open 叨 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 嘮; 唠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
勞
勞láo嘮lào
Same sound today

The traditional form 嘮 puts 口 (mouth) beside 勞, which gives the sound. The simplified 唠 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 唠 →

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