HSK 6 · Verbs

摇摆 yáobǎi “to sway” in Chinese

Traditional 搖擺

What 摇摆 means

  1. to sway
  2. to swing
  3. to waver
  4. to wobble

How to say 摇摆

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale摇yáo2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale摆bǎi3rd tone, dipping

摇摆 in a sentence

  1. 该政策在两种意见之间摇摆。

    Gāi zhèngcè zài liǎng zhǒng yìjiàn zhījiān yáobǎi.

    The policy wavered between two points of view.

    Sentence #775459 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 摇摆 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 摇 (yáo) with each of its parts in a different colour
摇yáoto shake
  • 扌hand form of 手 · shǒuMeaning part
  • 䍃vase · yáoSound part

扌 hints at the meaning (hand); 䍃 (yáo) hints at the sound. Compare it with yáo.

The character 摆 (bǎi) with each of its parts in a different colour
摆bǎito arrange
  • 扌hand form of 手 · shǒuMeaning part
  • 罢to cease · bàSound part

扌 hints at the meaning (hand); 罢 (bà) hints at the sound. Compare it with bǎi.

How to write 摇摆

摇 13 strokes · 摆 13 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

摇摆 (yáobǎi) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 摇摆 (yáobǎi). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 摇摆

Words with 摇

摇yáo · to shake摇滚yáogǔn · rock music

Words with 摆

摆bǎi · to arrange摆脱bǎituō · to break free from

More words: Common Verbs

掩盖yǎngài · to cover up掩护yǎnhù · to cover延伸yánshēn · to extend掩饰yǎnshì · to cover up压缩yāsuō · to compress压榨yāzhà · to squeeze压制yāzhì · to suppress依靠yīkào · to rely on

FAQs

摇摆 (yáobǎi) means “to sway” or “to swing”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it yáobǎi: yáo with a 2nd tone, then bǎi with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 摇摆 is written 搖擺. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yaobai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 摇摆 from the suggestions. Typing yaobai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
摇摆 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.