furtive; surreptitious; stealthy
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesadjective
furtive; surreptitious; stealthy; secretive
Describes actions performed in a secretive or stealthy manner, often implying a desire to avoid detection, guilt, or shame. This is an AABB reduplicative form of 偷偷, functioning as a state word (状态词) that can act as an adverbial modifier (e.g., 偷偷摸摸地) or predicate. Typically carries a negative connotation.
Tā他
zǒng总
shì是
tōu偷
tōu偷
mō摸
mō摸
de地
wán玩
shǒu手
jī机
，
shēng生
pà怕
bèi被
fù父
mǔ母
fā发
xiàn现
。
He always plays with his phone on the sly, afraid his parents will catch him.
Bù不
yào要
tōu偷
tōu偷
mō摸
mō摸
de的
，
yǒu有
shén什
me么
shì事
jiù就
zhí直
shuō说
。
Don't be sneaky; if you have something to say, just say it directly.
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Tā他
men们
tōu偷
tōu偷
mō摸
mō摸
de地
liū溜
jìn进
le了
huì会
yì议
shì室
。
They sneaked into the conference room stealthily.
Zhè这
zhǒng种
tōu偷
tōu偷
mō摸
mō摸
de的
xíng行
wéi为
chí迟
zǎo早
huì会
bèi被
fā发
xiàn现
。
This kind of furtive behavior will be discovered sooner or later.