马马虎虎
mǎmǎhūhū
In Chinese, "so so" is expressed as 马马虎虎 (mǎmǎhūhū).
马马虎虎 is used to describe something that is mediocre, meaning it is neither very good nor very bad. Beyond describing quality, it is also frequently used to describe a person's attitude as being careless or sloppy.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the characters for 'horse' (马) and 'tiger' (虎) repeated twice: 马马虎虎 literally means "horse horse tiger tiger".
How do you pronounce it?
mǎmǎhūhū
Did you know?
- Some folk stories claim the phrase comes from a painter who couldn't tell a 'horse' 马 from a 'tiger' 虎, resulting in a mediocre painting.
- Using 马马虎虎 to describe one's own language skills is a common way to show modesty, a highly valued trait in Chinese social interaction.
- In many contexts, using 马马虎虎 can sound slightly old-fashioned or formal compared to more modern ways of saying 'so so' like 一般般.
Examples in context
- 我从马来西亚来的妈妈觉得那三匹马马马虎虎。My mother from Malaysia thinks that those three horses are so-so.This sentence shows how to use 马马虎虎 to describe the quality of horses.Tatoeba #958213 by GlossaMatik, translation #958215 by FeuDRenais2
- 这道菜炒得马马虎虎。This dish is stir-fried so so.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a movie they recently watched.
- 志强 Zhiqiang梓涵，你觉得那部电影怎么样？Zǐhán, nǐ juéde nà bù diànyǐng zěnmeyàng?Zihan, what did you think of that movie?
- 梓涵 Zihan马马虎虎，没什么特别的。Mǎmǎhūhū, méishénme tèbié de.It was so so, nothing special.
- 志强 Zhiqiang那我们下次换一部看吧。Nà wǒmen xià cì huàn yī bù kàn ba.Then let's watch a different one next time.
- 梓涵 Zihan好啊，志强。Hǎo a, Zhìqiáng.Okay, Zhiqiang.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
