Meaning of 悄悄
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- quiet; making little or no noise
- surreptitious; stealthy
- anxious; worried
- Taiwan pr. [qiao3qiao3]
How to use 悄悄
悄悄 is mostly used as an adverb before a verb to show something is done quietly or secretly, often with 地. Example: 他悄悄地走进了房间。(Tā qiāoqiāo de zǒu jìn le fángjiān.) He quietly walked into the room.
悄 has the heart radical 忄 on the left and 肖 (xiào) on the right. Picture a heart moving so softly it makes no sound, and doubling it to 悄悄 makes the quietness even softer.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up the tone, since 悄 is qiāo in 悄悄 and 静悄悄 but qiǎo in 悄然 and 悄无声息. Also do not confuse 悄 with 俏 (qiào, pretty), which has the person radical 亻 instead of the heart radical.
悄悄 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
悄 qiāo · quiet · 10 strokes
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悄 qiāo · quiet · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 悄悄.
Questions about 悄悄
What does 悄悄 mean?
悄悄 (qiāoqiāo) means "quiet; making little or no noise; surreptitious; stealthy" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 悄悄?
悄悄 is made of 2 characters: 悄 (10 strokes), 悄 (10 strokes). That is 20 strokes in total.
Is 悄悄 an HSK word?
Yes. 悄悄 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 悄悄 and 偷偷?
Both can mean doing something without others noticing. 悄悄 focuses on being quiet and not making noise, while 偷偷 (tōutōu) leans more toward secretly doing something you should not.
Why do I hear qiǎoqiǎo for 悄悄 sometimes?
The dictionary notes that the Taiwan pronunciation is qiǎoqiǎo. In mainland standard Mandarin it is qiāoqiāo, and the second syllable is often said lightly.