Definition
踉踉跄跄 is a four-character reduplicated expression that vividly describes walking in an unsteady, stumbling manner — as if you're about to fall because you're drunk, exhausted, or injured. It appears in literary or descriptive Chinese, usually as an adverbial or predicate (e.g. 走得∼ 'walks staggering'). Unlike the English 'stagger about,' it emphasizes the visual wobbly motion step by step.
r.f.
staggeringtotteringwalking unsteadily
Examples
- ,踉踉跄跄。Tā hē zuì le, zǒu qǐ lù lái liáng de.He got drunk and walked staggeringly.
- ,踉踉跄跄。Lǎorén zhǔ zhe guǎizhàng, liáng de wǎng qián zǒu.The old man walked unsteadily forward, leaning on his cane.
- ,踉踉跄跄。Tā shòushāng hòu cóng dì shàng pá qǐlái, liáng de líkāi le.After being injured, he got up from the ground and staggered away.
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