滔滔 (tāo tāo) — (of water) torrential, surging, flowing endlessly; (of speech) fluent, non-stop, eloquent

Definition

Used almost only in set phrases like 滔滔不绝 ('pouring out without stop') and 滔滔江水 ('surging river waters'). It pictures a great volume of water flowing without pause, so it applies to talk that is fluent and ceaseless as well as to water itself.

bound form
(of water) torrentialsurgingflowing endlessly(of speech) fluentnon-stopeloquent

Examples

  • 滔滔。
    tāo tāo Jiāng shuǐ xiàng dōng liú qù.
    The torrential river flows eastward.
  • 。
    Tā jiǎng qǐ lì shǐ lái tāo tāo bù jué.
    When he talks about history, he goes on and on without stopping.
  • 滔滔，。
    Hóng shuǐ tāo tāo, yān mò le dà piàn nóng tián.
    The surging floodwaters submerged vast farmlands.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
叠音diéyīnRepeated syllable

One syllable written twice as a single unit of meaning; neither half stands alone.

滔tāo
滔tāo

The two 滔 characters do not carry separate meanings; together they paint a continuous, surging flow.

Sound-only characters

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 滔 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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