吧啦吧啦
bālābālā
The English phrase "blah blah blah" is expressed in Chinese as 吧啦吧啦 (bālābālā). Wiktionary also lists 哇啦哇啦 (wālāwālā) and 巴拉巴拉 (bālābālā).
Meaning: a stand-in for trivial, obvious, or boring content (intj)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 吧啦吧啦 | bālābālā |
| 哇啦哇啦 | wālāwālā |
| 巴拉巴拉 | bālābālā |
This phrase is used to mimic the sound of continuous, rapid or nonsensical talking, often to express that someone is talking too much or saying things that are unimportant.
Which one should you use?
In digital contexts like social media or texting, Chinese speakers often use the Latin-script blabla as a shorthand for the same concept. Other variations include 哇啦哇啦 and 巴拉巴拉.
How do you pronounce it?
bālābālā
Did you know?
- Using the variation 哇啦哇啦 can carry a mocking tone, as it evokes the sound of someone speaking with a wide, open mouth in a vacuous way.
- The character 吧 is normally a grammatical particle used to make suggestions, such as 'let's do this', but it completely loses its meaning when used in 吧啦吧啦.
- Some literary writers use the phrase 巴拉巴拉 as a rhythmic tool to pace out the description of a long, tedious speech in a story.
Examples in context
- 他就在那里吧啦吧啦说了半天。tā jiù zài nà lǐ bā lā bā lā shuō le bàn tiān.He just stood there blabbing on for ages.
- 别听他吧啦吧啦讲那些没用的。bié tīng tā bā lā bā lā jiǎng nà xiē méi yòng de.Don't listen to his blah blah blah nonsense.
- 她一直在那里吧啦吧啦地抱怨。tā yī zhí zài nà lǐ bā lā bā lā de bào yuàn.She kept on rambling and complaining.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a long, boring lecture.
- 浩然 Haoran教授今天讲了什么？Jiàoshòu jīntiān jiǎngle shénme?What did the professor talk about today?
- 雨婷 Yuting就是吧啦吧啦讲了一些理论。Jiùshì bālā bālā jiǎngle yìxiē lǐlùn.He just went on and on about some theories.
- 浩然 Haoran听起来很无聊。Tīng qǐlái hěn wúliáo.That sounds boring.
- 雨婷 Yuting没错，我差点睡着了。Méicuò, wǒ chàdiǎn shuìzháole.Exactly, I almost fell asleep.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “blah blah blah” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
