踉踉跄跄 (liàng liàng qiàng qiàng) — staggering, tottering, walking unsteadily

Definition

An onomatopoeic adverb meaning 'staggering, stumbling' — used as a vivid reduplicated (AABB) adverb, typically with 地 before a verb of walking.

bound form

staggeringtotteringwalking unsteadily

，踉踉跄跄。
Tā hē zuì le, zǒu qǐ lù lái liàng liàng qiàng qiàng de.
He got drunk and walked staggeringly.
，踉踉跄跄。
Lǎo rén zhǔ zhe guǎi zhàng, liàng liàng qiàng qiàng dì wǎng qián zǒu.
The old man walked unsteadily forward, leaning on his cane.
，踉踉跄跄。
Tā shòu shāng hòu cóng dì shàng pá qǐ lái, liàng liàng qiàng qiàng dì lí kāi le.
After being injured, he got up from the ground and staggered away.

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.

踉liàng

跄qiàng

踉 and 跄 carry no meaning of their own here; the repeated form suggests staggering.

Sound-only characters

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.