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凌乱 (líng luàn) — messy, disarrayed, disheveled; in disarray

Definition

Means 'messy, in disarray' (rooms, hair, papers) — stronger than 乱, emphasizing disorder rather than chaos. Often used as a more literary alternative in writing.

adjective
messydisarrayeddisheveledin disarray

Examples

  • 凌乱。
    Tā de fáng jiān hěn líng luàn.
    His room is very messy.
  • 凌乱。
    Tā de tóu fa bèi fēng chuī dé líng luàn.
    Her hair was blown into dishevelment by the wind.
  • 凌乱。
    Zhuō shàng de wén jiàn líng luàn dì fàng zhe.
    The documents on the table are placed messily.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

凌língdisorder
乱luànmessy

凌 and 乱 both convey disorder, so together they mean messy.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
冫Written in full as仌bīngice
Sound part声符shēngfú
夌
夌líng凌líng
Same sound today

In 凌, the left part 冫 relates to ice, while the right part 夌 gives the pronunciation.

Open 凌 →

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 →
Appears in
Order & ArrangementGood & Bad

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