扰民 (rǎo mín) — (verb-object) to disturb residents (with noise or other nuisance); to create a public nuisance

Definition

A verb-object phrase: 扰 (disturb) + 民 (residents/civilians), used for noise or nuisance that bothers the people around you — 'to disturb residents / create a public nuisance'.

verb
(verb-object) to disturb residents (with noise or other nuisance)to create a public nuisance

Examples

  • ，扰民。
    Lín jū bàn yè chàng gē, yán zhòng rǎo mín.
    The neighbor sang in the middle of the night, seriously disturbing the residents.
  • ，。
    Zhè jiā cān guǎn rǎo guò jǐ cì mín le, shè qū hěn bù mǎn.
    This restaurant has disturbed residents several times, and the community is very dissatisfied.
  • ，。
    Shī gōng zào yīn tài dà, yǐ jīng rǎo le mín.
    The construction noise is too loud and has already disturbed the residents.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

扰rǎodisturb
民mínpeople

“扰” says disturb and “民” names people, meaning to disturb residents.

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 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 →

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

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

Open 民 →

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