慢慢吞吞 (màn man tūn tūn) — exasperatingly slow; dawdling; sluggish
Definition
Bound-form adverb/adjective meaning 'exasperatingly slow' — typically modifies verbs (走, 说话, 做事) to describe dawdling that annoys the listener. Stronger and more vivid than 慢.
bound form
exasperatingly slowdawdlingsluggish
Examples
- 慢慢吞吞，。Tā zǒu lù zǒng shì màn man tūn tūn de, ràng rén zháo jí.He always walks exasperatingly slowly, which makes people anxious.
- 慢慢吞吞，。Bié màn man tūn tūn dì chī fàn, wǒ men kuài chí dào le.Don't dawdle over your meal — we're almost late.
- 慢慢吞吞，。Tā shuō huà màn man tūn tūn de, bàn tiān shuō bù wán yí jù huà.She speaks so slowly it takes forever to finish a sentence.
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.
慢 supplies the slow sense, and the repeated 吞 gives a dawdling feel.
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