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侵扰 (qīn rǎo) — to invade and harass; to intrude upon and disturb

Definition

侵扰 (qīnrǎo) is a formal verb meaning 'to intrude upon and disturb' — a stronger, more literary word than 打扰, often used for military incursions or unwanted violations of privacy or territory.

verb
to invade and harassto intrude upon and disturb

Examples

  • 侵扰。
    Dí rén qīn rǎo le wǒ men de biān jìng.
    The enemy invaded and harassed our border.
  • 侵扰。
    Wǒ bù xǐ huan bié rén qīn rǎo wǒ de sī rén kōng jiān.
    I don't like others intruding upon my private space.
  • 侵扰。
    Zhè ge dì qū jīng cháng shòu dào wài dí qīn rǎo.
    This area is often subjected to foreign invasion and harassment.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

侵qīninvade
扰rǎodisturb

侵 means “invade” and 扰 means “disturb”, giving “invade and harass”.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

侵 combines 人 (person), 帚 (broom), and 又 (hand) into the image of a person with a broom in hand.

Open 侵 →

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 擾; 扰 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
夒
夒náo擾rǎo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 擾 combines 手 (hand) with 夒, a sound part; the simplified 扰 is a later shorthand, so its visible pieces are not the historical parts.

Open 扰 →
Appears in
Conflict & Agreement

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