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咕哝 (gū nóng) — to murmur, to mumble, to mutter (speak in a low, unclear voice)

Definition

An onomatopoeic verb for talking in a low, indistinct voice — clearer than just "mumble" because it suggests quiet, often dissatisfied complaining rather than trying to be heard. The reduplicated 咕哝哝 form emphasizes continuous muttering.

verb
to murmurto mumbleto mutter (speak in a low, unclear voice)

Examples

  • 咕哝。
    Tā zuò zài jiǎo luò lǐ bù tíng dì gū nóng zhe shén me.
    He sat in the corner, constantly murmuring something.
  • 咕哝，。
    Bié gū nóng le, yǒu shén me huà dà shēng shuō.
    Stop mumbling — if you have something to say, say it out loud.
  • ，咕哝。
    Tā duì jié guǒ hěn bù mǎn, yì zhí zài dī shēng gū nóng.
    She was very dissatisfied with the result and kept muttering under her breath.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

咕gū
哝nóng

咕 and 哝 carry no separate meaning here; together 咕哝 names low muttering.

Sound-only characters

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
古
古gǔ咕gū
Same sound today

咕 combines 口 (mouth) with 古, which provides the sound. The 口 part points to mouth sounds, such as clucking or cooing.

Open 咕 →

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 噥; 哝 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
農
農nóng噥nóng
Same sound today

The traditional form 噥 pairs 口, a mouth, with 農, the sound part; the simplified 哝 is a later shorthand.

Appears in
Communication & Speech

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