打官腔

dǎguānqiāng

phrase #41,099

Meanings

1 to talk officiously
2 to speak in stiff bureaucratic jargon
3 to give the runaround

Characters

official, government

tone, manner of speech

Examples

我去问问题，他只会打官腔，不解决任何事。

Wǒ qù wèn wèntí, tā zhǐ huì dǎ guānqiāng, bù jiějué rènhé shì.

I went to ask a question, but all he did was give the bureaucratic runaround — nothing got solved.

别再打官腔了，直接告诉我们真相吧。

Bié zài dǎ guānqiāng le, zhíjiē gàosù wǒmen zhēnxiàng ba.

Stop with the officialese — just tell us the truth.

Tips

culture

官腔 (guānqiāng, 'official tone') is the stilted, deflective way functionaries are stereotyped as speaking — formulaic phrases, no substance. 打官腔 is to put on that voice. A standard complaint about Chinese (and any) bureaucracy.

Stroke Order

打 dǎ

官 guān

腔 qiāng