足足 (a full / no less than)

• Pinyin: zúzú
• Formation: 足足 + Verb + Duration/Quantity | Verb + 了 + 足足 + Duration/Quantity
• Hanzi breakdown: 足 = 口 (mouth) + 止 (stop) — originally a pictograph of a foot

Meaning

The adverb 足足 is placed before a number or duration to emphasize that the quantity is surprisingly large or the duration is impressively long. It conveys 'a full,' 'no less than,' or 'a whopping.'

足足 is a reduplicated form of 足 meaning 'sufficient' or 'full.' When used before a number or measure phrase, it emphatically communicates that the amount exceeds what the listener might expect. It always carries a tone of emphasis — the speaker finds the quantity noteworthy, whether positively or negatively. 足足 can appear before the verb phrase (足足等了两个小时) or after the verb with 了 (等了足足两个小时); both positions are natural and common. It differs from 整整 which emphasizes completeness or exactness of a round number, while 足足 stresses that the amount is impressively large. 足足 is inappropriate with small or trivial quantities — saying 足足一分钟 would sound odd unless that one minute felt remarkably long in context.

Examples

1. 这场会议足足开了三个小时，大家都累坏了。 This meeting went on for a full three hours — everyone was exhausted.
2. 他为了这个项目准备了足足半年时间。 He spent a full six months preparing for this project.
3. 排队足足等了四十分钟才买到票。 We waited in line for a full forty minutes before we could buy tickets.

Usage Guide

Context: spoken, written, narrative

Tone: emphatic

Do Say

• 他在国外足足待了十年才回来。
• 这顿饭我们足足吃了两个小时。
• 修这条路花了足足三千万。
• 她为了这次演出排练了足足一个月。

Don't Say

• 足足一个人来了。(足足 modifies quantities, durations, or amounts — it cannot modify a count of one person without an implied surprising duration or extent) → 只来了一个人。
• 他足足很累。(足足 is used with numerical or durational complements, not with adjectives — it cannot replace 非常 or 很) → 他非常累。

Origin & History

The character 足 means 'foot' or 'sufficient/enough.' The reduplication 足足 intensifies the sense of fullness or sufficiency, evolving into an adverb that emphasizes quantities as being impressively ample or large.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal