Chinese word

风波

Pronunciation

Pinyinfēng bō

Meaning

  • nountrouble

Example

因为那个谣言，公司发生了风波。yīn wèi nà ge yáo yán gōng sī fā shēng le fēng bō

That rumor caused trouble at the company.

Illustration for 风波 (trouble)

More examples

公司高层的矛盾曝光后，引发了风波。gōng sī gāo céng de máo dùn bào guāng hòu yǐn fā le fēng bō

The exposure of conflict among the company's senior executives caused trouble.

Core concept

A ripple of disruption that carries an incident's effects into wider relationships and public attention.

Common phrases

  • 引发风波yǐn fā fēng bō

    cause trouble

  • 平息风波píng xī fēng bō

    quell the trouble

  • 卷入风波juǎn rù fēng bō

    get caught up in trouble

Similar words

丑闻chǒu wén: A scandal in which wrongdoing by a person or organization becomes public and draws strong criticism.
争议zhēng yì: Public disagreement about an issue that leads to opposing views and open debate.
纠纷jiū fēn: A conflict over interests or rights between parties that requires a negotiated or legal solution.
纷争fēn zhēng: A continuing struggle among several parties with conflicting views or positions.

Definition in Chinese

由某一事件触发并在公众、团体或人际关系中扩散，造成争议、不安或名誉受损的情况。yóu mǒu yí shì jiàn chù fā bìng zài gōng zhòng tuán tǐ huò rén jì guān xì zhōng kuò sàn zào chéng zhēng yì bù ān huò míng yù shòu sǔn de qíng kuàng

Word origin

The compound 风 (fēng, "wind") + 波 (bō, "wave") uses moving air and waves as a concrete picture for an event whose effects travel and disturb a wider circle.

Usage tips

  • Unlike the closest English noun, this Chinese noun readily uses an event measure word when one episode is meant, a useful pattern for describing a single case.

Other meanings

  • disturbancenoun
  • controversynoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word