动不动

• Pinyin: dòng bu dòng
• Desglose de hanzi: 动 = 云 + 力 (to move/act); 不 = negation particle; 动 repeated = indicating habitual, hair-trigger behaviour

Significado

A la mínima; por cualquier cosa (con tono crítico).

Almost always carries a critical or disapproving tone. It implies that someone reacts too quickly or too frequently to minor stimuli — getting angry too easily, crying too readily, or making threats impulsively. Common in colloquial speech as gentle criticism of someone's overreactions.

Ejemplos

1. 他动不动就发脾气，同事们都不敢轻易跟他说话。
2. 这孩子动不动就哭鼻子，让家长十分头疼。
3. 一遇到困难，他动不动就打退堂鼓，缺乏坚持的勇气。

Guía de uso

Contexto: behaviour, criticism, personality, colloquial

Tono: negative

Correcto

• 他动不动就以辞职相威胁，时间一长，领导也不再认真对待了。(He always threatens to quit at the slightest thing, and after a while, management no longer took it seriously.)
• 青少年动不动就沉迷手机，家长需要适当引导而非一味指责。(Teenagers are always getting absorbed in their phones at the slightest opportunity; parents need to guide them appropriately rather than simply criticising.)

Incorrecto

• 他动不动地努力工作 — 动不动 has a fixed idiomatic meaning of habitual impulsive or excessive behaviour; it cannot be used positively or neutrally as a general adverb

Origen e historia

动 (to move/act) + 不动 (not moving) — the paradoxical pairing means 'at every slight movement', i.e. at the slightest provocation

Contexto cultural

Generación: All ages

Contexto social: Universal