胡来 (hú lái) — to act recklessly, to mess around, to do something without proper thought or reason

Definition

胡来 (hú lái) means to act recklessly or do something without proper thought — a stronger, more critical warning than just 随便. Often used in commands like 别胡来!

verb
to act recklessly, to mess around, to do something without proper thought or reason

Examples

  • 胡来，。
    Bié hú lái, zhè jiàn shì hěn zhòng yào.
    Don't mess around; this matter is very important.
  • 胡来，。
    Tā gēn běn bù liǎo jiě qíng kuàng jiù hú lái, jié guǒ chū le wèn tí.
    He just went ahead recklessly without understanding the situation, and as a result, problems arose.
  • ，胡来。
    Zuò shí yàn yào àn bù zhòu lái, bù néng hú lái.
    When doing experiments, you must follow the steps; you can't mess around.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

胡húrecklessly
来láiact

胡 supplies the sense of recklessness, and 来 denotes acting.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

Open 来 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.