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打扰 (dǎ rǎo) — to disturb, to bother

Definition

打扰 (dǎrǎo) is the standard polite verb 'to disturb / bother,' used in everyday apologies and requests — broader and more neutral than the nuisance-feeling 烦, and less about imposing trouble than 麻烦.

verb
to disturbto bother

Examples

  • 打扰，？
    dǎ rǎo Yí xià, qǐng wèn tú shū guǎn zěn me zǒu?
    Sorry to bother you, could you tell me how to get to the library?
  • ，打扰。
    Tā zài gōng zuò, wǒ men bié dǎ rǎo tā.
    He's working, let's not disturb him.
  • ，打扰。
    Duì bu qǐ, dǎ rǎo nǐ zhè me duō cì.
    Sorry for bothering you so many times.

Origin

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

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 →
Appears in
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