支吾 (zhī wú) — to prevaricate, to hem and haw, to be evasive (in speech)
Definition
支吾 (zhīwú) means to hedge or stall verbally — 'hem and haw,' dodge a direct answer. It almost always appears as 支吾着 / 支吾了半天, not as a standalone transitive verb.
verb
to prevaricateto hem and hawto be evasive (in speech)
Examples
- 支吾，。Tā zhī wú le bàn tiān, yě méi shuō chū gè suǒ yǐ rán.He hemmed and hawed for a long time but didn't give a clear answer.
- 支吾，！Bié zhī wú le, kuài shuō shí huà!Stop hedging, tell the truth!
- ，支吾。Miàn duì zhì wèn, tā zhī wú zhe bù kěn huí dá.Facing the questioning, he hedged and refused to answer.
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