纷乱 (fēn luàn) — chaotic, disorderly, in turmoil

Definition

adjective

chaoticdisorderlyin turmoil

，纷乱。
Zhàn zhēng guò hòu, zhěng gè chéng shì yí piàn fēn luàn.
After the war, the whole city was in chaos.
纷乱。
Tā nǎo zi lǐ zǒng shì chōng mǎn fēn luàn de xiǎng fǎ.
His mind is always full of chaotic thoughts.
纷乱。
Bào fēng yǔ ràng yuán běn ān jìng de yè wǎn biàn de fēn luàn bù ān.
The storm turned the originally quiet night into turmoil and unrest.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

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

纷fēnnumerous and tangled

“纷” (numerous and tangled) and “乱” (disorder) combine to mean chaotic.

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 紛; 纷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mì

Sound part声符shēngfú

分

Same sound today

The form 紛 is built from 糸, a meaning part, and 分, a sound part.

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.

𤔔乚亂

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.