躁动不安 (zào dòng bù ān) — restless and agitated, fidgety and uneasy

Definition

A vivid four-character adjective meaning deeply restless and uneasy, often about a person who can't sit still or a mood of agitation. It is more intense and literary than the plain 不安, and connotes physical fidgeting, not just worry.

adjective
restless and agitatedfidgety and uneasy

Examples

  • 躁动不安，。
    Tā kǎo shì qián yí yè zào dòng bù ān, zěn me yě shuì bù zháo.
    He was restless and agitated the night before the exam and couldn't fall asleep no matter what.
  • 躁动不安，。
    Jiào shì lǐ xué shēng men zào dòng bù ān, lǎo shī bù dé bù wéi chí zhì xù.
    The students in the classroom were restless and fidgety, and the teacher had to maintain order.
  • 躁动不安。
    Gǔ shì de bō dòng ràng tóu zī zhě men zào dòng bù ān.
    The stock market fluctuations made investors restless and uneasy.

Origin

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.

躁动restless movement
躁zàorestless动dòngmove
偏正Modifier + head
不安not calm
不bùnot安āncalm
偏正Modifier + head

躁动 (restless movement) and 不安 (not calm) together describe fidgety unease.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 躁 →

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 動; 动 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
重
重zhòng動dòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 動 uses 力 (strength) and 重 as a sound part; 重 refers to a heavy bag ready to be moved by a human. This note is about 動, not 动.

Open 动 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ安ān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Open 安 →

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