嘁嘁喳喳

qīqichāchā
adjective

Meanings

  1. 1 whispering; murmuring
  2. 2 whispered gossip

Examples

HSK 4
Shàngkè shí, hòupái de tóngxué yìzhí qīqichāchā.
During class the students in the back row kept whispering.
HSK 7-9
Línjūmen zài bèihòu qīqichāchā, shuō le tā bùshǎo xiánhuà.
The neighbours whispered behind her back and spread all sorts of gossip about her.

Tips

usage
嘁嘁喳喳 is a steady buzz of hushed, hurried talk and often suggests gossip. 喳 here is chā, as in 喳喳 "to whisper", not the zhā of birdsong in 叽叽喳喳. The second syllable is neutral: qīqichāchā.

Stroke Order

嘁 qī
喳 zhā