逃之夭夭
táo zhī yāo yāo
to run away; to make oneself scarce
Character by character
逃táo
flee
flee
之zhī
(particle)
(particle)
夭yāo
lush
lush
夭yāo
lush
lush
Example
小偷一看见警察，马上逃之夭夭。
The moment the thief saw the police he took to his heels.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
A later pun on 《周南·桃夭》 桃之夭夭，灼灼其华 (“the peach tree is young and lush, its blossom ablaze”), a wedding song: 桃 became its homophone 逃. Humorous; mostly of people slipping away from trouble or responsibility.
Learn this in Lesson 230 · HSK 9+: 诗经：最早的歌 (The Book of Songs)
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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