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肉麻 (ròu má) — (stative verb) cringeworthy, overly sentimental to the point of discomfort; (stative verb) giving one the creeps, cheesy

Definition

Describes love-talk or affection that feels exaggerated, mushy, or 'cringey' — the speaker wants the listener to wince, not swoon. Unlike general discomfort, it specifically targets over-the-top romantic sentimentality.

adjective
(stative verb) cringeworthy, overly sentimental to the point of discomfort(stative verb) giving one the creepscheesy

Examples

  • 肉麻。
    Tā duì wǒ shuō de nà xiē qíng huà zhēn shì ròu má jí le.
    Those sweet nothings he said to me were so cringey.
  • ，肉麻。
    Kàn jiàn tā men zài zhè me jìn de dì fāng jiē wěn, wǒ gǎn jué hěn ròu má.
    Seeing them kiss so close up made me feel very uncomfortable.
  • 肉麻，。
    Nà bù diàn shì jù de ài qíng xì tài ròu má le, wǒ shí zài kàn bú xià qù.
    The romantic scenes in that TV drama are too cheesy — I really can't stand watching them.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

肉ròuflesh
麻mánumb

肉 feels flesh, and 麻 is numb; the image of flesh going numb gives a creepy feeling.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original shape of 肉 showed ribs of an animal’s torso, or simply a slice of meat.

Open 肉 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

麻 combines 厂 and 𣏟 to represent hemp leaves.

Open 麻 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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