呱呱坠地
gū gū zhuì dì
to come into the world; to be born
Character by character
呱gū
wah
wah
呱gū
wah
wah
坠zhuì
fall
fall
地dì
to the ground
to the ground
Example
凌晨三点，一个七斤重的大胖小子呱呱坠地，全家人都松了一口气。
At three in the morning a bouncing baby boy of seven jin (3.5 kg) came into the world, and the whole family breathed a sigh of relief.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
呱呱 is read gūgū here, the cry of a newborn (not guāguā, a duck or frog). The subject is the baby. Common in news reports, memoirs and birth announcements.
Learn this in Lesson 43 · HSK 5–6: 坐月子与抓周 (A baby’s first year)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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