撺掇 (cuān duo) — to urge (someone to do something), to egg on, to instigate

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning 'to egg someone on, to urge them into (usually questionable) action' — implies the instigator benefits, unlike neutral 鼓励 ('encourage').

verb
to urge (someone to do something)to egg onto instigate

Examples

  • 撺掇，。
    Tā cuān duo wǒ qù qǐng jià lǚ xíng, qí shí shì xiǎng zhǎo rén péi tā.
    He urged me to take leave and go traveling, but actually he just wanted someone to accompany him.
  • 撺掇，。
    Bié cuān duo tā le, tā zì jǐ huì jué dìng.
    Don't egg him on; he'll make his own decision.
  • 撺掇，。
    Péng you dōu cuān duo wǒ shì yi shì, wǒ jiù dā ying le.
    All my friends urged me to give it a try, so I agreed.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

撺cuān
掇duō

撺掇 is a single unit; 撺 and 掇 have no meanings of their own here.

Sound-only characters

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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
叕
叕zhuó掇duō
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

掇 pairs 手, a hand, with 叕, which gives the sound.

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