耍宝

耍寶

shuǎbǎo

verb

Meanings

1 to clown around
2 to ham it up
3 to show off in a goofy way to amuse others

Characters

to play; perform

treasure; cute thing

Examples

HSK 2

他特别爱在朋友面前耍宝。

Tā tèbié ài zài péngyou miànqián shuǎbǎo.

He loves clowning around in front of his friends.

HSK 2

孩子一耍宝，全家都笑了。

Háizi yī shuǎbǎo, quánjiā dōu xiào le.

The moment the child started hamming it up, the whole family laughed.

Tips

register

Colloquial, especially common in Taiwan Mandarin and entertainment writing. 耍 = to play / mess around; 宝 here means 'treasure / cute thing' - together: 'to play the cute fool'.

Stroke Order

耍 shuǎ

宝 bǎo