讨嫌 (tǎo xián) — annoying, disagreeable

Definition

讨嫌 (tǎo xián) means 'annoying / disagreeable' — it describes a person or thing that makes others want to avoid them. Colloquial and stronger-feeling than plain 烦.

adjective
annoyingdisagreeable

Examples

  • 讨嫌。
    Tā zhēn tǎo xián.
    He's really annoying.
  • 讨嫌。
    Bié zuò tǎo xián de shì.
    Don't do annoying things.
  • 讨嫌。
    Zhè zhǒng tiān qì zhēn tǎo xián.
    This weather is really annoying.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

讨tǎocourt
嫌xiándislike

“讨” court and “嫌” dislike combine to mean courting dislike, hence disagreeable or annoying.

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 討; 讨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
肘
肘zhǒu討tǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 討 pairs 言 (speech) with a shortened form of 肘 for sound; an old reading took 言 plus 寸 (hand) as 'rectify'. The simplified 讨 is a shorthand, so its parts are not historical components.

Open 讨 →

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
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
兼
兼jiān嫌xián
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 女 connects the character to women, while the right part 兼 gives its sound.

Open 嫌 →

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