闯祸 (chuǎng huò) — to get into trouble, to cause a mishap or calam…

Definition

Means getting into trouble by one's own actions — causing an accident, mess, or mishap. The trouble is something you did, not just bad luck.

verb

to get into troubleto cause a mishap or calamity

闯祸，。
Tā yòu chuǎng huò le, bèi lǎo bǎn pī píng le yí dùn.
He got into trouble again and was criticized by the boss.
，闯祸。
Kāi chē yí dìng yào xiǎo xīn, bù rán hěn róng yì chuǎng huò.
You must be careful when driving, or you'll easily get into trouble.
，。
Nǐ zhè cì kě chuǎng le dà huò, gǎn jǐn xiǎng bàn fǎ bǔ jiù ba.
You've really caused big trouble this time — hurry up and think of a way to fix it.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

闯chuǎngrush; force one's way

祸huòdisaster; trouble

闯 is to rush or force one's way, and 祸 is disaster; together they mean to cause trouble or mishap.

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 闖; 闯 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 闖 shows a horse rushing through a gate, which fits the modern sense of dashing; the simplified 闯 is a later shorthand.

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.

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