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暴乱 (bào luàn) — riot; rebellion; revolt (violent uprising against authority)

Definition

A 暴乱 (bào luàn) is a violent, chaotic riot — an outbreak of public disorder on the streets, stronger than a 抗议 protest. Pairs with 场 ('一场暴乱').

noun
riotrebellionrevolt (violent uprising against authority)
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 暴乱。
    Zhè ge chéng shì fā shēng le bào luàn.
    This city experienced a riot.
  • 暴乱。
    Zhèng fǔ jūn píng xī le bào luàn.
    Government troops quelled the rebellion.
  • 暴乱。
    Zhè cì bào luàn chí xù le sān tiān.
    This revolt lasted three days.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

暴bàoviolent
乱luàndisorder

暴 violent and 乱 disorder combine to mean violent disorder or riot.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The earliest form paired 虎 and 戈, a tiger and a weapon. The later 暴 came from a picture of hands drying something in the sun.

Open 暴 →

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 亂; 乱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乚Written in full as乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
𤔔
𤔔𤔔亂luàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 亂 contains 𤔔, a drawing of combing tangled threads, and 乙; the simplified 乱 is only a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 乱 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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