Traditional: 亂
luàn HSK 4

English Meaning

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📚 Example Sentences

房间里很乱。
Fángjiān lǐ hěn luàn.
The room is very messy.
别乱说话。
Bié luàn shuōhuà.
Don't speak carelessly.
街上人很多,很乱。
Jiē shàng rén hěn duō, hěn luàn.
There are many people on the street, it's chaotic.
房间很乱。
Fángjiān hěn luàn.
The room is messy.
头发乱了。
Tóufa luàn le.
The hair is messy.

💡 Memory Tip

Imagine a messy room where everything is in a 'loop' (sounds like 'luàn') of confusion—items are looped and tangled together in disorder. The character itself looks a bit like threads (糸) tangled under a roof (舌), symbolizing a mess.

📝 Usage Notes

乱 is common in both spoken and written Chinese, across formal and informal contexts. It is frequently used to describe untidy physical spaces (e.g., a messy desk), chaotic situations (e.g., traffic), or confused mental states (e.g.,乱想, to think randomly). As a verb, it appears in phrases like 扰乱 (to disturb).

📖 Grammar Points

乱 can be used as: 1) An adjective before a noun (e.g., 乱房间). 2) An adverbial modifier before a verb (e.g., 乱说话, to speak carelessly). 3) A verb (e.g., 别乱了我的计划, Don't mess up my plan). 4) In the AABB pattern (e.g., 乱乱糟糟, very messy).

🏯 Cultural Notes

In Chinese culture, maintaining order and harmony is highly valued, so describing something as 乱 often carries a negative connotation of impropriety or loss of control. It is commonly used in critiques of social disorder or personal untidiness.

🔄 Similar Words

Compared to 杂 (zá), which means 'mixed' or 'varied' and can be neutral, 乱 strongly implies undesirable disorder. 烦 (fán) means 'annoyed' or 'troubled,' focusing on emotional irritation rather than physical or situational chaos.

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