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牢骚 (láo sāo) — complaints; grumbling; discontent (often in 发牢骚 'to complain')

Definition

牢骚 means personal complaints or grumbling — an informal, everyday word (usually in 发牢骚 'to complain'). It is more colloquial than 怨言 and 怨气, which sound more written and emphasize resentment.

noun
complaintsgrumblingdiscontent (often in 发牢骚 'to complain')

Examples

  • 牢骚，。
    Tā láo sāo tè bié duō, zhěng tiān bào yuàn zhè ge bào yuàn nà ge.
    He has a lot of complaints, complaining about this and that all day long.
  • 牢骚，。
    Nǐ yǒu láo sāo jiù zhí shuō, bié biē zài xīn lǐ.
    If you have complaints, say it outright; don't bottle them up.
  • 牢骚。
    Zhè xiē láo sāo tā yǐ jīng shuō le hǎo jǐ biàn le.
    He has gone over these complaints several times already.

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.

牢láo
骚sāo

牢 and 骚 do not carry separate meanings here; the two syllables together name complaints or grumbling.

Sound-only characters

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

  • 宀宀miánpen; animal yard
  • 牛牛niúcow

牢 places 牛, a cow, under 宀, a pen or animal yard.

Open 牢 →

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 騷; 骚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎhorse
Sound part声符shēngfú
蚤
蚤zǎo騷sāo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 騷 pairs 馬 (horse) with 蚤 as a sound component; the simplified 骚 is a shorthand.

Open 骚 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & Feelings

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