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HSK 5 · VERSION 2.0#106

Comparing “qiāoqiāo” and “tōutōu”

悄悄 vs 偷偷

qiāoqiāo vs tōutōu

Comparison section · original #13 · level order #106

How it works

Both 悄悄 (qiāoqiāo) and 偷偷 (tōutōu) can describe doing something quietly, but their meanings are not the same.

悄悄 (qiāoqiāo) emphasizes quietness or low sound.

偷偷 (tōutōu) emphasizes secrecy, often suggesting that others do not know.

Example sentences

他怕吵醒别人,所以悄悄地关上了门。

Tā pà chǎo xǐng biérén, suǒyǐ qiāoqiāo de guān shàng le mén.

He was afraid of waking others up, so he quietly closed the door.

那孩子趁大家不注意,偷偷把糖拿走了。

Nà háizi chèn dàjiā bù zhùyì, tōutōu bǎ táng ná zǒu le.

That child secretly took the candy away while no one was paying attention.

她走进房间的时候很悄悄,可后来我才发现她其实是想偷偷看看桌上的信。

Tā zǒu jìn fángjiān de shíhou hěn qiāoqiāo, kě hòulái wǒ cái fāxiàn tā qíshí shì xiǎng tōutōu kànkan zhuō shàng de xìn.

She entered the room very quietly, but later I discovered that she actually wanted to secretly look at the letter on the table.

Key point

A simple distinction:

悄悄 (qiāoqiāo) = quietly

偷偷 (tōutōu) = secretly

Source: HelloMandarin · Revised edition, 2026 · PDF p. 293.

Old_HSK_1-6_Grammar_Points_2.0.pdf

Old six-level teaching collection. This is an independent learning reference.

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