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惹祸 (rě huò) — to cause trouble, to bring disaster upon oneself

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning 'to get (oneself) into trouble' — usually through one's own careless words or actions, implying blame on the subject. Often paired with 小心 to warn someone not to misbehave.

verb
to cause troubleto bring disaster upon oneself

Examples

  • ，惹祸。
    Tā kāi chē bù xiǎo xīn, jié guǒ rě huò le.
    He drove carelessly and ended up causing trouble.
  • ，。
    Zhè hái zi yòu rě le huò, bǎ huā píng dǎ suì le.
    This child caused trouble again, breaking the vase.
  • ，惹祸。
    Bié luàn shuō huà, xiǎo xīn rě huò.
    Don't speak carelessly, be careful not to cause trouble.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

惹rěprovoke
祸huòdisaster

惹, meaning provoke, combines with 祸, meaning disaster, to describe causing trouble.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 惹 →

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 禍; 祸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shìsacrifice
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi禍huò
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The simplified 祸 is an abbreviation of traditional 禍, which pairs 示 (sacrifice) with 咼 to show pronunciation.

Open 祸 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 6Safety & Danger

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