摇摇晃晃

搖搖晃晃

yáoyáohuànghuàng

adverb #22,128

Meanings

1 swaying
2 staggering
3 tottering
4 rocking back and forth

Characters

to shake, to sway

(AABB reduplication, A repeated)

to rock, to wobble, to swing

(AABB reduplication, B repeated)

Examples

喝多了的他摇摇晃晃地走回家。

Hē duō le de tā yáoyáohuànghuàng de zǒu huí jiā.

Having drunk too much, he staggered his way home.

小船在风浪中摇摇晃晃，令人担心。

Xiǎo chuán zài fēnglàng zhōng yáoyáohuànghuàng, lìng rén dānxīn.

The small boat rocked back and forth in the wind and waves, causing concern.

Tips

grammar

摇摇晃晃 is an AABB reduplicated form from 摇晃 (to sway). AABB reduplication intensifies the vividness or duration of the action/state. It functions adverbially before verbs (摇摇晃晃地走 — to walk staggeringly) or predicatively (走得摇摇晃晃).

Stroke Order

摇 yáo

晃 huàng