"偷偷," "悄悄," and "暗暗"
"偷偷 (tōutōu)," "悄悄 (qiāoqiāo)," and "暗暗 (ànàn)" are all adverbs used to describe an action you want to keep to yourself or not let others know about. They can also appear in the same position within a sentence. For example:
- 我们偷偷地跟在他后面.
- 我们悄悄地跟在他后面.
- 我们暗暗地跟在他后面.
Although the meanings of the three sentences above are similar, they are still slightly different.
"偷偷" is used when the action is something the subject of the sentence is afraid to be caught doing. This is often because it is something they shouldn't do. For example:
- 那个坏家伙趁人不注意的时候偷偷溜走了. (he doesn't want others to know he's leaving)
- 这孩子才十岁，但总是趁大人不在的时候偷偷地开车玩. (the child doesn't want anyone to know he drives the car)
"悄悄" is used to indicate that the subject does something quietly, as to not draw attention and disturb others. For example:
- 每天早上六点，他同屋睡得很香的时候，他就悄悄地起床了.
- 图书馆里非常安静，我悄悄地走进去，找了个空座位坐下.
"暗暗" is generally used for actions that are done inwardly by the subject.
- 我暗暗下定决心，一定要干得比他更好.
- 看着他那奇怪的样子，我心里暗暗觉得好笑.
