悄悄 (qiāo qiāo) — quietly; stealthily; surreptitiously | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

悄悄 (qiāoqiāo) means 'quietly / on the sly' — usually a verb of action done without being noticed, slightly stealthier than 默默 (just silent, no secrecy). Synonymous with 偷偷; unlike 暗中, it does not imply organized secrecy.

adverb

quietlystealthilysurreptitiously

Examples

。
Tā qiāo qiāo de lí kāi le fáng jiān.
He quietly left the room.
，悄悄。
Bié chū shēng, wǒ men qiāo qiāo gēn zài tā hòu miàn.
Don't make a sound, let's follow him quietly.
悄悄，。
Tā qiāo qiāo xiào le yí xià, méi ràng bié rén kàn jiàn.
She smiled quietly without letting anyone see.

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.

The doubled 悄 gives a quiet, careful manner, as in doing something softly.

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.

忄肖悄

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

肖

肖xiào悄qiǎo

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

悄 is made from 忄, a form of 心 meaning heart, and 肖, which provides the sound.

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

忄肖悄

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

肖

肖xiào悄qiǎo

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

悄 is made from 忄, a form of 心 meaning heart, and 肖, which provides the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 5

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