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in a joking or half-joking manner
她半开玩笑地回答说：‘别开玩笑了！’
She replied jokingly, 'Don't joke around!'
他半开玩笑地问：‘你相信 UFO 吗？’
He asked jokingly, 'Do you believe in UFOs?'
Often used to soften a question or statement, implying it was not meant seriously.
Use 半开玩笑地问 when asking a question in a lighthearted or non-serious way. It signals to the listener that the question is not meant to be taken literally.
半开玩笑地 is often used to soften the tone of a question or statement, especially in social or informal settings.
The phrase combines 半 (half), 开玩笑 (to joke), and 地 (adverbial marker). It emerged in modern Mandarin to describe actions done with partial seriousness or humor.
This phrase is commonly used in casual conversation to indicate that a statement or question was not entirely serious, often to avoid sounding too direct or critical.