吞吞吐吐

tūntūntǔtǔ

idiom #29,045

Meanings

1 to hum and haw
2 to speak evasively
3 to be hesitant and indirect in speech

Characters

to swallow; to gulp

to spit out; to utter

Examples

他吞吞吐吐地说了半天，也没说清楚到底发生了什么。

Tā tūntūntǔtǔ de shuō le bàntiān, yě méi shuō qīngchǔ dàodǐ fāshēng le shénme.

He hemmed and hawed for a long time without clearly explaining what had actually happened.

你有什么就说什么，别吞吞吐吐的。

Nǐ yǒu shénme jiù shuō shénme, bié tūntūntǔtǔ de.

Just say what's on your mind — don't beat around the bush.

Tips

memory

吞 means 'to swallow' and 吐 means 'to spit out' — alternating between swallowing and spitting out words paints a vivid picture of someone struggling to say something clearly.

Stroke Order

吞 tūn

吐 tǔ