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干扰 (gān rǎo) — to disturb; to interfere (with people, work, or activities); to interfere (with signals, radio waves, or other physical phenomena)

Definition

干扰 means 'to disturb or interfere' and works for both people/work and physical signals (radio, electronics). 干涉 is stronger and more deliberate (meddling in another's affairs); 插手 is similar but specifically 'to meddle in' a task or situation.

verb
to disturbto interfere (with people, work, or activities)to interfere (with signals, radio waves, or other physical phenomena)

Examples

  • 干扰。
    Qǐng bú yào gān rǎo tā xiū xi.
    Please don't disturb his rest.
  • 干扰。
    Shǒu jī xìn hào bèi gān rǎo le.
    The cell phone signal is being interfered with.
  • ，干扰。
    Tā shuō huà shēng yīn tài dà, gān rǎo dé wǒ wú fǎ zhuān xīn.
    He spoke so loudly that it disturbed my concentration.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

干gāninterfere
扰rǎodisturb

干 means to interfere and 扰 means to disturb, together describing a disturbance or interruption.

Characters in this word

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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 擾; 扰 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
夒
夒náo擾rǎo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 擾 combines 手 (hand) with 夒, a sound part; the simplified 扰 is a later shorthand, so its visible pieces are not the historical parts.

Open 扰 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 65000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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