TongTong
Sign in

骚动 (sāo dòng) — to become restless or agitated; to cause a disturbance

Definition

Used for a group (crowd, audience, society) that stirs into unrest or agitation. Stronger than 激动 (emotional excitement) and wider in scale than 打扰 (disturbing a person).

verb
to become restless or agitatedto cause a disturbance

Examples

  • 骚动，。
    Rén qún tū rán sāo dòng qǐ lái, dà jiā dōu bù zhī dào fā shēng le shén me shì.
    The crowd suddenly became restless, and nobody knew what had happened.
  • 骚动。
    Tā de jiǎng huà zài tīng zhòng zhōng yǐn qǐ le sāo dòng.
    His speech stirred up a disturbance among the audience.
  • 骚动。
    Cháng shí jiān de jīng jì bù jǐng qì ràng zhěng gè shè huì sāo dòng bù ān.
    The prolonged economic downturn made the entire society restless and uneasy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

骚sāoagitated
动dòngmove

骚 and 动 both carry a sense of disturbance and movement, so together they mean restless agitation.

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 騷; 骚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎhorse
Sound part声符shēngfú
蚤
蚤zǎo騷sāo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 騷 pairs 馬 (horse) with 蚤 as a sound component; the simplified 骚 is a shorthand.

Open 骚 →

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 動; 动 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
重
重zhòng動dòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 動 uses 力 (strength) and 重 as a sound part; 重 refers to a heavy bag ready to be moved by a human. This note is about 動, not 动.

Open 动 →
Appears in
Society & Public Life

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.