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烦扰 (fán rǎo) — to bother, to disturb; to feel disturbed, to be troubled

Definition

烦扰 covers two sides: a transitive verb meaning 'to bother / disturb' someone, and an intransitive use meaning 'to feel troubled'. It implies persistent annoyance rather than a single interruption.

verb
to botherto disturbto feel disturbedto be troubled

Examples

  • 烦扰。
    Qǐng bú yào fán rǎo wǒ.
    Please don't bother me.
  • 烦扰。
    Zhè ge xiāo xi ràng tā fēi cháng fán rǎo.
    This news made him feel very disturbed.
  • 烦扰。
    Zào yīn fán rǎo zhe jū mín.
    The noise disturbs the residents.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

烦fánbother
扰rǎodisturb

Both 烦 (to trouble) and 扰 (to disturb) point to bothering someone.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 煩; 烦 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 煩, the shape is made from 火 (fire) and 頁 (head).

Open 烦 →

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
Emotions & Feelings

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