to utter a sound; to speak up
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesverb
to make a sound; to utter a word; to speak up
Commonly used in negative constructions such as 不吭声 (not utter a sound) or 别吭声 (don't speak). The variant 吭声儿 (with erhua) is also common in spoken Mandarin.
Rèn任
píng凭
tā她
shuō说
shén什
me么
nǐ你
yě也
bié别
kēng吭
shēng声
。
No matter what she says, don't utter a sound.
Tā他
shòu受
le了
hěn很
duō多
lèi累
，
kě可
shì是
cóng从
lái来
yě也
bù不
kēng吭
yī一
shēng声
。
He suffered a lot, but never uttered a single word.
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Wǒ我
wèn问
le了
tā他
sān三
biàn遍
，
tā他
shǐ始
zhōng终
bù不
kēng吭
qì气
。
I asked him three times, but he remained silent the whole time.