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结巴 (jiē ba) — to stammer, to stutter

Definition

结巴 (jiēba) is a colloquial, mildly self-deprecating word for stuttering, often used to describe one's own speech. As a verb it can reduplicate (结结巴巴) to emphasize the halting, stumbling manner of speaking.

verb
to stammerto stutter

Examples

  • 结巴，。
    Tā shuō huà yǒu diǎn jiē ba, dàn hěn nǔ lì dì biǎo dá zì jǐ.
    He stammers a bit when speaking, but he tries hard to express himself.
  • ，结巴。
    Jǐn zhāng de shí hou, wǒ róng yì jiē ba.
    When I'm nervous, I tend to stutter.
  • 结巴，。
    Tā jiē ba dé hěn lì hài, suǒ yǐ hěn shǎo zài dà jiā miàn qián shuō huà.
    He stutters badly, so he rarely speaks in front of others.

Origin

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 結; 结 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
吉
吉jí結jié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 結 pairs 糸 with 吉; 吉 gives the sound, and 糸 relates to the meaning. The simplified 结 is a later shorthand.

Open 结 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 巴 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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