哭哭啼啼

kūkutítí

idiom #16,817

Meanings

1 to weep endlessly
2 to cry and sniffle
3 interminable wailing

Characters

to weep; to wail

Examples

她哭哭啼啼地跑回了家。

Tā kūkutítí de pǎo huí le jiā.

She ran home crying and sobbing.

别哭哭啼啼的，有什么事好好说。

Bié kūkutítí de, yǒu shénme shì hǎohǎo shuō.

Stop crying and talk properly about what happened.

Tips

grammar

This follows the AABB reduplication pattern (哭哭啼啼), common in Chinese for expressing ongoing or repetitive actions. Similar: 吵吵闹闹 (bickering), 磕磕绊绊 (stumbling).

Stroke Order

哭 kū

啼 tí