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挑拨 (tiǎo bō) — to incite disharmony, to sow discord, to instigate

Definition

挑拨 is a transitive verb meaning to sow discord between people or groups, with a negative connotation. Unlike 挑衅 (direct provocation toward someone) or 怂恿 (urging one person to act), 挑拨 specifically targets relationships between parties.

verb
to incite disharmonyto sow discordto instigate

Examples

  • 挑拨。
    Tā xǐ huan zài péng you zhī jiān tiǎo bō guān xì.
    He likes to sow discord among friends.
  • 挑拨，。
    Gōng sī lǐ yǒu rén tiǎo bō shì fēi, dǎo zhì tóng shì bù hé.
    Someone in the company is stirring up trouble, causing colleagues to fall out.
  • ，挑拨。
    Liǎng guó guān xì běn yìng yǒu hǎo, què bèi wài bù shì lì tiǎo bō.
    The relations between the two countries should have been friendly, but were instigated by external forces.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

挑tiāostir
拨bōpoke

挑 means stir and 拨 means poke; together they suggest stirring up trouble between people.

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
兆
兆zhào挑tiāo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

挑 has 手, meaning hand, and 兆, which gives the sound.

Open 挑 →

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 撥; 拨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
發
發fā撥bō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 撥 combines 手 (hand) with 發, which gives the sound; the simplified 拨 is a different form.

Open 拨 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Conflict & Agreement

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.