拐彎抹角

See also: 拐弯抹角

Chinese

		to turn; to change direction; turn	girdle; brassiere; to plaster girdle; brassiere; to plaster; play; to smear	horn; angle; role horn; angle; role; actor; contend; horn-shaped; Chinese musical note
trad. (拐彎抹角)		拐彎	抹	角
simp. (拐弯抹角)		拐弯	抹	角

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): guǎiwānmòjiǎo

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄨㄞˇ ㄨㄢ ㄇㄛˋ ㄐㄧㄠˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gwaai² waan¹ mut⁶ gok³, gwaai² waan¹ mut³ gok³

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: guǎiwānmòjiǎo
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄞˇ ㄨㄢ ㄇㄛˋ ㄐㄧㄠˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: guǎiwanmòjiǎo
    • Wade–Giles: kuai³-wan¹-mo⁴-chiao³
    • Yale: gwǎi-wān-mwò-jyǎu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: goaiuanmohjeau
    • Palladius: гуайваньмоцзяо (guajvanʹmoczjao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ku̯aɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ wän⁵⁵ mu̯ɔ⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: guǎiwānrmòjiǎor
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄞˇ ㄨㄢㄦ ㄇㄛˋ ㄐㄧㄠˇㄦ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: guǎiwanrmòjiǎor
    • Wade–Giles: kuai³-wan¹-ʼrh-mo⁴-chiao³-ʼrh
    • Yale: gwǎi-wānr-mwò-jyǎur
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: goaiualmohjeaul
    • Palladius: гуайваньрмоцзяор (guajvanʹrmoczjaor)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ku̯aɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ wɑɻ⁵⁵ mu̯ɔ⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯aʊ̯ɻʷ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gwaai² waan¹ mut⁶ gok³, gwaai² waan¹ mut³ gok³
    • Yale: gwáai wāan muht gok, gwáai wāan mut gok
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gwaai² waan¹ mut⁹ gok⁸, gwaai² waan¹ mut⁸ gok⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: guai² wan¹ mud⁶ gog³, guai² wan¹ mud³ gog³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʷaːi̯³⁵ waːn⁵⁵ muːt̚² kɔːk̚³/, /kʷaːi̯³⁵ waːn⁵⁵ muːt̚³ kɔːk̚³/

Idiom

拐彎抹角

1. to twist and turn; to turn a corner here and there
2. (figurative) to speak in a roundabout way; to beat around the bush; to equivocate

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 拐彎抹角 (“to speak in a roundabout way; to beat around the bush”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		拐彎抹角, 轉彎抹角, 兜圈子, 繞圈子, 繞彎子, 繞彎
Mandarin	Beijing	拐彎兒抹角兒, 轉彎兒抹角兒, 拐彎兒, 轉彎兒, 繞彎兒
	Taiwan	拐彎抹角
	Luoyang	拐彎兒抹角兒, 轉彎抹角
	Singapore	拐彎抹角
Cantonese	Hong Kong	轉彎抹角, 兜圈, 遊花園
Gan	Lichuan	拐彎抹角
Southern Min	Xiamen	彎來斡去, 踅玲瑯
	Zhangzhou	踅玲瑯
	Tainan	轉彎踅角, 彎來斡去, 彎彎斡斡, 踅玲瑯