结结巴巴 (jiē jiē bā ba) — stammering, haltingly (describing speech)

Definition

Describes speech that comes out broken and hesitant, with frequent pauses or repeats. Used as an adverb (结结巴巴地说) or after 的/地, not as a main verb on its own.

verb

stammeringhaltingly (describing speech)

Examples

结结巴巴，。
Tā shuō huà jiē jiē bā ba de, tīng qǐ lái hěn jǐn zhāng.
He speaks haltingly; it sounds like he's very nervous.
结结巴巴，。
Tā jiē jiē bā ba dì jiě shì le bàn tiān, dà jiā cái míng bai.
He explained haltingly for a long time before everyone understood.
结结巴巴，。
Bié jiē jiē bā ba de, màn màn shuō.
Don't stammer; speak slowly.

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.

结结

结jiéstammer结jiéstammer

重叠Reduplication

巴巴

巴bāstammer巴bāstammer

重叠Reduplication

The 结结 and 巴巴 together suggest halting, stammering speech.

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 →