寻衅 (xún xìn) — to pick a quarrel; to provoke

Definition

寻衅 (xúnxìn) is a formal verb meaning to deliberately provoke or pick a fight — used in legal and news writing rather than everyday speech. It often collocates with 滋事 (e.g. 寻衅滋事 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble'), a set phrase in Chinese law.

verb
to pick a quarrelto provoke

Examples

  • 寻衅，。
    Tā zǒng ài xún xìn nào shì, dà jiā dōu bù xǐ huan tā.
    He always likes to pick quarrels and cause trouble; nobody likes him.
  • 衅，。
    Tā zuó tiān zài jiē shàng xún le yí cì xìn, bèi jǐng chá dài zǒu le.
    Yesterday he picked a quarrel on the street and was taken away by the police.
  • 寻衅。
    Fǎ lǜ yán lì dǎ jī xún xìn zī shì de xíng wéi.
    The law strictly cracks down on acts of picking quarrels and provoking trouble.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

寻xúnseek
衅xìntrouble

寻 means to seek, and 衅 names trouble or quarrel, so the phrase is to seek trouble.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

寻 is formed from 又 (hand) and 寸 (hand).

Open 寻 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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