In what kinds of sentences can "马马虎虎" be used? Would I be able to use it to describe how good food tastes, and if so, how would I structure the sentence? Is it usually used by itself as a sentence? I'm never sure if the context is right to use it or not. I want to describe a food as tasting mediocre.
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Check https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/25522/how-did-%e9%a9%ac%e9%a9%ac%e8%99%8e%e8%99%8e-come-to-mean-so-so also this https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/24249/what-is-the-mandarin-equivalent-of-cantoneses-%e9%ba%bb%e9%ba%bb%e5%9c%b0-so-so – Tang Ho May 25 '21 at 02:57
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Similar to the French expression -- Comme ci comme ça -- Neither good nor bad; so so; tolerable, passable, indifferent. – Wayne Cheah May 25 '21 at 03:18
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Here's a YouTube explanation --https://youtu.be/onlhbVasE94 – Wayne Cheah May 25 '21 at 03:23
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Yes, it can be used with anything that is under expectation. It means "so, so" in English. – r13 May 25 '21 at 17:14
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To express a mediocre taste, I think it's better to say
這道菜［很普通/平淡無奇］。
馬虎is generally used when we wish to comment on someone’s attitude. It may be used when you wish to criticise someone’s preparation of the dish as sloppy:這道菜做得馬馬虎虎。
(lit.) This dish is done in a sloppy manner.The sense 'so-so' (
還過得去in Cihai's definition), as in這道菜，馬馬虎虎吧。
(lit.) This dish, it's so-so., is very colloquial, perhaps regional. It is found in Cihai but not in Taiwan dictionaries.
L Parker
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In your case, you can say 这道菜马马虎虎. Similar use 这台电视马马虎虎。
It can also be used adverbally. E. g. 他歌唱得马马虎虎。
dan
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