管闲事 (guǎn xián shì) — to meddle, to poke one's nose into others' business

Definition

To meddle in or poke one's nose into other people's business — implies the issue isn't yours to handle. The 闲事 ('idle matter') underscores that the affair is trivial and outside your concern.

verb
to meddle, to poke one's nose into others' business

Examples

  • 管闲事，。
    Tā zǒng xǐ huan guǎn xián shì, jié guǒ dé zuì le hěn duō rén.
    He always likes to meddle and ended up offending many people.
  • ，。
    Wǒ quàn nǐ shǎo guǎn yì xiē xián shì, shěng de má fan.
    I advise you to mind your own business more to avoid trouble.
  • ，。
    Nǐ zài guǎn bié rén de xián shì, wǒ kě bù guǎn nǐ le.
    If you meddle in others' affairs again, I won't look after you.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

管guǎnmanage
闲事idle matter
闲xiánidle事shìmatter
偏正Modifier + head

管 is to manage, and 闲事 is an idle matter, so it means managing matters that are none of one's concern.

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
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
官
官guān管guǎn
Same sound today

管 has 竹 (bamboo) on top to show it relates to bamboo, and 官 gives its sound.

Open 管 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閒; 闲 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 閒 puts 月 (moon) inside 門 (door), as if moonlight peeks through a door; this picture gives the idea of a gap or space. The simplified 闲 is a later abbreviation.

Open 闲 →

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →

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