Chinese word

纠缠

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiū chán

Meaning

  • verbpester

Example

他总是纠缠我不放。tā zǒng shì jiū chán wǒ bú fàng

He is always pestering me and won't leave me alone.

Illustration for 纠缠 (pester)

More examples

他不断纠缠对方要答案。tā bú duàn jiū chán duì fāng yào dá àn

He keeps pestering the other person for an answer.

Core concept

A circling pull keeps returning until a person, matter, or feeling cannot easily break free.

Common phrases

  • 纠缠不休jiū chán bù xiū

    pester endlessly

  • 纠缠对方jiū chán duì fāng

    pester the other person

Similar words

缠绕chán rào: Wind around something repeatedly, as thread or a vine does.
缠住chán zhù: Wrap tightly around something and stop it from moving freely.
困扰kùn rǎo: Trouble a person or disrupt daily life with ongoing worry or annoyance.
纠结jiū jié: Have tangled thoughts or feelings that make a decision difficult.

Definition in Chinese

指人或事像线、藤一样反复缠绕，使难以分开或摆脱，也可比喻思想或感情在心中反复盘旋不能放下的状态或行为。zhǐ rén huò shì xiàng xiàn téng yí yàng fǎn fù chán rào shǐ nán yǐ fēn kāi huò bǎi tuō yě kě bǐ yù sī xiǎng huò gǎn qíng zài xīn zhōng fǎn fù pán xuán bù néng fàng xià de zhuàng tài huò xíng wéi

Word origin

The two characters both contain the thread radical: 纠 (jiū, "twist") suggests a tangle and 缠 (chán, "wrap") suggests winding around something, together forming the word's central image.

Usage tips

  • The verb commonly takes a person as its object, and a continuation phrase after it can stress that the behavior does not stop, making it useful in spoken complaints.

Other meanings

  • entangleverb
  • harassverb
  • cling toverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 纠缠不休jiū chán bù xiūpester endlesslyidiom
  • 纠缠不清jiū chán bù qīnghopelessly tangledidiom

Word lists with this word