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厮混 (sī hùn) — (derogatory) to hang out aimlessly and engage in idle or improper activities together

Definition

A derogatory verb meaning to hang out (with) people in an idle or disreputable way — always implies moral disapproval of the companions or activity. Used as 跟/和 + person + 厮混, never for neutral socializing.

verb
(derogatory) to hang out aimlessly and engage in idle or improper activities together

Examples

  • 厮混。
    Tā zhěng tiān gēn nà xiē bù sān bú sì de rén sī hùn zài yì qǐ.
    He spends all day hanging out with those shady people.
  • 厮混，。
    Bié zài gēn zhè qún rén sī hùn le, gǎn jǐn qù zhǎo fèn zhèng jīng gōng zuò.
    Stop hanging out with these people — go find a proper job.
  • 厮混。
    Tā men jǐ gè zài jiǔ bā lǐ sī hùn le zhěng zhěng yí gè wǎn shàng.
    They spent the whole evening messing around at the bar.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

厮sīmutual
混hùnmix; hang out

The sense of 厮 as mutual and 混 as mixing or hanging out together describes people spending time aimlessly.

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
厂厂chǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
斯
斯sī厮sī
Same sound today

厮 combines 厂 with 斯; the 斯 part gives its sound.

Open 厮 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
昆
昆kūn混hùn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

混 pairs 氵 (water) on the left with 昆 on the right, which supplies the sound.

Open 混 →
Appears in
Friends & Social

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