隐隐约约

隱隱約約

yǐnyǐnyuēyuē

idiom #52,991

Meanings

Yuǎnchù yǐnyǐnyuēyuē chuán lái zhōngshēng.

Faintly from a distance came the sound of a bell.

Wù lǐ yǐnyǐnyuēyuē néng kànjiàn jǐ zuò shān.

Through the mist you could just barely make out a few mountains.

grammar

AABB-pattern reduplication of 隐约. Used adverbially with verbs of perception (看见, 听见, 感觉, 传来). Softens the verb to 'just barely.'

memory

隐 = hidden, 约 = approximate. Hidden + approximate, doubled = 'half-hidden, half-glimpsed.'

隐 yǐn

约 yuē