adjective / noun / verb HSK 3
Traditional 麻煩
troublesome · inconvenient · trouble · to bother · to inconvenience
Meaning
麻烦 means troublesome or bothersome, and refers to situations, tasks, or people that cause difficulty or require extra effort. It can describe something complicated or annoying, or be used as a polite way to ask someone for help.
Usage
As an adjective, 麻烦 describes inconvenient situations (这很麻烦). As a verb, it's commonly used in the polite phrase 麻烦你 (excuse me, could you...) when asking someone to do something. When thanking someone, Chinese speakers often say 麻烦你了 (sorry to trouble you / thanks for your help). It's very common in everyday conversation.
Examples
- 01麻烦你帮我开一下门。.Excuse me, could you help me open the door?
- 02这个手续太麻烦了。.This procedure is too troublesome.
Characters
Common collocations
- 麻烦你excuse me (could you...)
- 麻烦你了sorry to trouble you
- 添麻烦to cause trouble
- 真麻烦what a hassle
Antonyms
Origin
The word combines 麻 (hemp/rough texture, suggesting something tangled) with 烦 (annoyed/vexed), creating the sense of a tangled, irritating situation that causes vexation.