Chinese word

闹事

Pronunciation

Pinyinnào shì

Meaning

  • verbcause trouble

Example

他在学校里闹事，老师很生气。tā zài xué xiào lǐ nào shì lǎo shī hěn shēng qì

He causes trouble at school, and the teacher is very angry.

Illustration for 闹事 (cause trouble)

More examples

警方迅速出动，制止了在示威中闹事的人。jǐng fāng xùn sù chū dòng zhì zhǐ le zài shì wēi zhōng nào shì de rén

The police quickly arrived and stopped the people causing trouble during the demonstration.

Core concept

A situation is stirred up until ordinary interaction turns into a noisy dispute.

Common phrases

  • 在示威中闹事zài shì wēi zhōng nào shì

    cause trouble during a demonstration

  • 借机闹事jiè jī nào shì

    take the opportunity to cause trouble

  • 公开闹事gōng kāi nào shì

    cause trouble openly

Similar words

捣乱dǎo luàn: Purposely causing noise or interference that interrupts an activity and creates confusion.
起哄qǐ hòng: Shouting with a crowd to mock someone or attract attention.
吵闹chǎo nào: Making enough noise to stop people nearby from enjoying quiet.
惹事rě shì: Bringing about trouble by starting disputes or causing problems.

Definition in Chinese

以言行扰乱正常秩序，导致矛盾或冲突的动词，常用于指引发骚动或争执。yǐ yán xíng rǎo luàn zhèng cháng zhì xù dǎo zhì máo dùn huò chōng tū de dòng cí cháng yòng yú zhǐ yǐn fā sāo dòng huò zhēng zhí

Word origin

闹 (nào, "make a commotion") + 事 (shì, "matter or affair") forms a verb for stirring up trouble or a dispute through unruly behavior.

Usage tips

  • A place phrase often comes before the verb, making clear whether the disruption affects a school, street, workplace, or another shared setting.

Other meanings

  • make a sceneverb

Opposites

  • 维护秩序wéi hù zhì xùmaintain orderverb
  • 平息事端píng xī shì duāndefuse the situationverb

Related words

  • 闹事者nào shì zhětroublemakernoun
  • 闹事分子nào shì fèn zǐagitatornoun

Word lists with this word