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胡搅蛮缠 (hú jiǎo mán chán) — (idiom) to pester endlessly; to make unreasonable demands or cause trouble

Definition

A vivid chengyu for pestering or arguing unreasonably — stronger than ordinary 纠缠, with a tone that clearly blames the pestering party.

idiom
to pester endlesslyto make unreasonable demands or cause trouble

Examples

  • ，胡搅蛮缠。
    Míng míng shì tā de cuò, tā què zài zhè lǐ gēn wǒ hú jiǎo mán chán.
    It's clearly his fault, yet he's here pestering me endlessly.
  • 胡搅蛮缠，。
    Hái zi yì zhí gēn mā ma hú jiǎo mán chán, fēi yào mǎi nà ge wán jù bù kě.
    The child kept pestering his mother, insisting on buying that toy.
  • 胡搅蛮缠，。
    Tán pàn shí duì fāng dài biǎo jiù yí gè xiǎo xì jié hú jiǎo mán chán, ràng huì yì wú fǎ jì xù.
    During the negotiations, the other side's representative pestered endlessly over a tiny detail, making the meeting unable to continue.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

胡搅reckless stirring
胡húrecklessly搅jiǎostir
偏正Modifier + head
蛮缠unreasonable pestering
蛮mánunreasonably缠chánpester
偏正Modifier + head

胡搅 suggests reckless stirring and 蛮缠 suggests unreasonable pestering, together meaning endless pestering.

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ胡hú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

胡 combines 古, which points to its sound, with ⺼ (肉), meaning meat or flesh.

Open 胡 →

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 攪; 搅 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
覺
覺jué攪jiǎo
Same sound today

The traditional form 攪 uses 扌 (hand) to show the action and 覺 for its sound; the simplified 搅 is a later shorthand.

Open 搅 →

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 蠻; 蛮 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
虫虫chóngsnake
Sound part声符shēngfú
䜌
䜌䜌蠻mán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 蠻 shows 虫 (a snake) for the meaning and 䜌 for the sound; the simplified 蛮 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 蛮 →

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
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