Definition
挑拨 (tiǎo bō) means to deliberately sow discord or create conflict between people, often through gossip or manipulation. It focuses on damaging relationships, unlike 煽动 (shān dòng), which stirs up strong emotions to provoke action, or 怂恿 (sǒng yǒng), which urges someone personally to do something wrong. The outcome of 挑拨 is strained relations between parties, not necessarily immediate action.
verb
to incite disharmonyto sow discordto instigate
Examples
- 挑拨。Tā xǐhuan zài péngyou zhī jiān tiǎo bō guānxi.He likes to sow discord among friends.
- 挑拨，。Gōngsī lǐ yǒurén tiǎo bō shìfēi, dǎozhì tóngshì bùhé.Someone in the company is stirring up trouble, causing colleagues to fall out.
- ，挑拨。Liǎng guó guānxì běn yīng yǒuhǎo, què bèi wàibù shìlì tiǎo bō.The relations between the two countries should have been friendly, but were instigated by external forces.
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