吵 (chǎo) — (verb) to quarrel; to argue; (verb) to make noise; to disturb; (adjective) noisy; loud
Definition
吵 covers both senses: 'noisy' (adj) and 'to make noise / to quarrel' (verb). 响 focuses on a sound occurring ('ring, sound'); 闹 is louder and more chaotic noise, plus 'to cause trouble'.
verb
to quarrelto argueto make noiseto disturb
adjective
noisyloud
Examples
- 吵。Nǐ men bú yào zài chǎo le.Don't quarrel anymore.
- 吵,。Qǐng bú yào chǎo, wǒ zài kàn shū.Please don't make noise, I'm reading.
- 吵。Zhè ge fáng jiān hěn chǎo.This room is very noisy.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
吵 is built from 口, a mouth, plus 少, which supplies the sound. The mouth part matches meanings about noise and quarreling.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.