絮絮叨叨 (xù xu dāo dāo) — (of speech) long-winded, talkative, nagging | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A vivid reduplicated adjective meaning 'nagging, long-winded' — strongly negative, more insistent than 唠叨 alone, and usually describes repeated, tedious speech.

bound form

(of speech) long-windedtalkativenagging

Examples

絮絮叨叨。
Tā hē le yì diǎn jiǔ jiù kāi shǐ xù xu dāo dāo dì shuō gè méi wán.
He started talking endlessly after drinking a bit.
絮絮叨叨。
Mā ma zǒng shì xù xu dāo dāo dì tí xǐng wǒ yào duō chuān yī fu.
Mom always nags me to wear more clothes.
絮絮叨叨，。
Bié xù xu dāo dāo de le, wǒ zhī dào le.
Stop nagging, I get it.

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.

絮絮

絮xùrambling絮xùrambling

叨叨

叨dāonagging叨dāonagging

The repeated 絮絮 and 叨叨 echo one another to suggest endless nagging talk.

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.

如糸絮

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk

Sound part声符shēngfú

如

如rú絮xù

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

絮 pairs 糸, a silk-related part, with 如, which gives the sound rú.

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

如糸絮

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk

Sound part声符shēngfú

如

如rú絮xù

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

絮 pairs 糸, a silk-related part, with 如, which gives the sound rú.

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

口刀叨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

刀

刀dāo叨dāo

Same sound today

叨 combines 口, the mouth part, with 刀, the sound part.

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

口刀叨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

刀

刀dāo叨dāo

Same sound today

叨 combines 口, the mouth part, with 刀, the sound part.

Appears in

Communication & Speech Idioms & Set Phrases

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