滔滔不绝 (tāotāobùjué) · to talk on and on

滔滔不绝 (tāotāobùjué) means “to talk on and on; non-stop”. It is written with 3 characters: 滔 (torrential) + 不 (not) + 绝 (to cut). It is an old HSK 6 word (HSK 2.0).

How 滔滔不绝 is built

The characters

滔 tāo · torrential

What 滔 is made of

氵shuǐ — water
舀yǎo — to ladle out
- 爫zhǎo — claws
- 臼jiù — mortar

不 bù · not

What 不 is made of

一 — horizontal stroke

Origin hint: A bird flying toward the sky 一 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

绝 jué · to cut

What 绝 is made of

纟sī — silk
- 一 — horizontal stroke
色sè — color
- ⺈ — top shape
- 巴bā — to desire
  - 巳sì — the hours from 9 to 11

Origin hint: 纟 gives the meaning, 色 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

Example sentences

他一说起足球就滔滔不绝。Tā yī shuōqǐ zúqiú jiù tāotāobùjué.Once he starts on football, he talks non-stop.

她滔滔不绝地讲了一个小时。Tā tāotāobùjué de jiǎng le yí gè xiǎoshí.She talked on and on for an hour.

Questions about 滔滔不绝

What does 滔滔不绝 mean?

滔滔不绝 (tāotāobùjué) means “to talk on and on; non-stop”.

How do you pronounce 滔滔不绝?

滔滔不绝 is pronounced tāotāobùjué.

Which HSK level is 滔滔不绝?

滔滔不绝 is in Old HSK 6.

Related words

Learn 滔滔不绝 with its group

It is part of Old HSK 6 · Group 176: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.

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