乱世 (luàn shì) — troubled times; era of chaos (war, upheaval) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A literary noun for an era of war, disorder, and social collapse — used in writing about history and literature rather than everyday speech.

noun

troubled timesera of chaos (war, upheaval)

Examples

乱世，。
Zài luàn shì zhōng, bǎi xìng de shēng huó fēi cháng jiān nán.
In troubled times, the lives of common people are very difficult.
乱世。
Xǔ duō yīng xióng rén wù dōu chū xiàn zài luàn shì.
Many heroic figures appear in troubled times.
乱世。
Zhè běn xiǎo shuō miáo huì le nà duàn luàn shì.
This novel depicts that era of chaos.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

乱luànchaotic

乱 (chaotic) describes 世 (era), giving troubled times.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 亂; 乱 is its simplified writing.

𤔔乚亂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

乚Written in full as乙yǐ

Sound part声符shēngfú

𤔔

𤔔𤔔亂luàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 亂 contains 𤔔, a drawing of combing tangled threads, and 乙; the simplified 乱 is only a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.