作怪 (zuò guài) — to make trouble; to cause mischief

Definition

Means something hidden is causing trouble — often used for machines, weather, or unknown forces acting strangely. Reads more literary/colloquial-figurative than plain 'make trouble' (捣乱).

verb
to make troubleto cause mischief

Examples

  • 作怪。
    Bié zài zhè lǐ zuò guài le.
    Don't make trouble here.
  • ？
    Tā dào dǐ zài zuò shén me guài?
    What mischief is he up to?
  • 作怪。
    Zhè ge jī qì yòu kāi shǐ zuò guài le.
    This machine is acting up again.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

作zuòdo
怪guàimischief

作 suggests doing and 怪 suggests mischief, so the sense is to cause trouble.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
乍
乍zhà作zuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

Open 作 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
圣
圣shèng怪guài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

怪 is built from 忄, a form of 心, which relates to mind or feeling, and 圣, which gives the sound.

Open 怪 →

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