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纠缠 (jiū chán) — to be tangled, to be entangled (physical); to pester, to nag, to keep bothering (about something)

Definition

纠缠 covers both senses: a physical tangle and pestering someone. The pestering sense is heavier and more persistent than 唠叨 or 啰唆 (just talking/nagging), and adds entanglement in messy relationships or affairs (纠缠不清).

verb
to be tangledto be entangled (physical)to pesterto nagto keep bothering (about something)

Examples

  • 纠缠，。
    Tā de tóu fa jiū chán zài yì qǐ le, shū bù kāi.
    Her hair is all tangled up and can't be combed out.
  • 纠缠，。
    Bié zài wéi zhè xiē xiǎo shì jiū chán wǒ le, wǒ hěn máng.
    Stop pestering me about these little things — I'm busy.
  • 纠缠，。
    Tā men de gǎn qíng guān xì jiū chán bù qīng, hěn nán shuō shuí duì shuí cuò.
    Their emotional relationship is tangled up and it's hard to say who is right or wrong.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

纠jiūtwist
缠chánwind

纠, to twist, and 缠, to wind, together mean tangled or nagging.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 糾; 纠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
丩
丩jiū糾jiū
Same sound today

In the traditional form 糾, 糸 (silk) was added to 丩, which already stood for the word. The simplified 纠 is a shorthand.

Open 纠 →

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 纏; 缠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
廛
廛chán纏chán
Same sound today

The traditional form 纏 combines 糸 (silk) with 廛 as the sound part; the simplified 缠 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 缠 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Conflict & Agreement

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