guǎi wān mò jiǎo

Traditional: 拐彎抹角

拐弯抹角 (guǎi wān mò jiǎo) is a Chinese word meaning “lit. going round the curves and skirting the corners (idiom); fig. to speak in a roundabout way; to equivocate”.

Meanings

  1. 1lit. going round the curves and skirting the corners (idiom)
  2. 2fig. to speak in a roundabout way
  3. 3to equivocate
  4. 4to beat about the bush

Characters in 拐弯抹角

拐guǎi · to turn (a corner etc)弯wān · to bend抹mā · to wipe角jiǎo · angle

Related words

角色role; part (in a play or movie etc)角angle角role (theater)角surname Jue角度angle主角leading role; lead角落corner (of a room, courtyard etc)抹to wipe抹to smear抹to plaster弯to bend拐to turn (a corner etc)

Study Chinese with flashcards →