啧啧声 (zé zé shēng) — sound of clicking the tongue (tsk-tsk; expressing admiration or mild disapproval)

Definition

A onomatopoeic noun for the clicking-tongue sound (tsk-tsk), used in writing to convey admiration or mild disapproval. It is a written/sound word, not a standard noun.

noun
sound of clicking the tongue (tsk-tsk; expressing admiration or mild disapproval)

Examples

  • ，啧啧声。
    Dà jiā chī dào zhè dào cài, dōu fā chū zé zé shēng.
    Everyone made tsk-tsk sounds when they tasted this dish.
  • ，啧啧声。
    Tīng dào zhè ge hǎo xiāo xi, tā bù yóu de fā chū zé zé shēng.
    Upon hearing this good news, he couldn't help but make a clicking sound.
  • 啧啧声。
    Jiào shì lǐ chuán lái tóng xué men de zé zé shēng.
    The sound of students clicking their tongues came from the classroom.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

啧啧tsk-tsk
啧zétsk啧zétsk
重叠Reduplication
声shēngsound

The 声 of 啧啧, a tsk-tsk sound.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 嘖; 啧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
責
責zé嘖zé
Same sound today

The traditional form 嘖 has 口 (mouth) on the left and 責 on the right, with 責 giving the sound; the simplified 啧 is a later abbreviation.

Open 啧 →

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 嘖; 啧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
責
責zé嘖zé
Same sound today

The traditional form 嘖 has 口 (mouth) on the left and 責 on the right, with 責 giving the sound; the simplified 啧 is a later abbreviation.

Open 啧 →

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 聲; 声 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
殸
殸qìng聲shēng
Same sound today

The traditional form 聲 pairs 耳 (ear) with 殸 as a sound part; the simplified 声 is a shorthand and does not show those original parts.

Open 声 →

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