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乱子 (luàn zǐ) — disturbance, trouble, disorder

Definition

乱子 means 'trouble' or a disturbance — usually a sudden mess-up or incident (e.g. 出了乱子 'something went wrong'). It focuses on the event itself rather than ongoing chaos (which is 混乱).

noun
disturbancetroubledisorder

Examples

  • 乱子，。
    Zuó tiān gōng sī chū le gè dà luàn zǐ, dà jiā dōu máng le yì zhěng tiān.
    A big trouble happened at the company yesterday, and everyone was busy the whole day.
  • 乱子。
    Jǐng chá hěn kuài jiù píng xī le zhè chǎng luàn zǐ.
    The police quickly settled this disturbance.
  • 乱子。
    Zhè cì luàn zǐ ràng dà jiā xī qǔ le jiào xùn.
    This trouble made everyone learn a lesson.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

乱luàndisorder
子zǐ

乱 gives disorder and 子 points to a troublesome incident.

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.

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.

Open 乱 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
Society & Public Life

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