静悄悄 (jìng qiāo qiāo) — very quiet; silent; still

Definition

Reduplicated adverbial meaning 'very quiet, silent, still' — used with 的 to describe a scene (教室里静悄悄的) or with 地 to modify a verb (静悄悄地走).

verb
very quietsilentstill

Examples

  • 静悄悄，。
    Jiào shì lǐ jìng qiāo qiāo de, dà jiā dōu zài kǎo shì.
    The classroom is very quiet; everyone is taking an exam.
  • 静悄悄。
    Tā jìng qiāo qiāo dì lí kāi le fáng jiān.
    He quietly left the room.
  • ，静悄悄。
    Shēn yè, zhěng gè chéng shì jìng qiāo qiāo de.
    In the dead of night, the whole city is silent.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

静jìngquiet
悄悄quietly
悄qiāoquiet悄qiāoquiet
重叠Reduplication

静 means 'quiet', and 悄悄 intensifies it to 'very quiet'.

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 靜; 静 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 靜, not the simplified 静, uses 青 and 爭 for sound; an old source also treats 青 (blue) as a meaning part.

Open 静 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
肖
肖xiào悄qiǎo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

悄 is made from 忄, a form of 心 meaning heart, and 肖, which provides the sound.

Open 悄 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
肖
肖xiào悄qiǎo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

悄 is made from 忄, a form of 心 meaning heart, and 肖, which provides the sound.

Open 悄 →

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