紊

wěn

文 + 糸

Definitions

wěn involved; tangled; disorderly; confused; chaotic; Taiwan pr. [wèn]

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 糸 represents the meaning and 文 represents the sound.

Semantic: 糸 Phonetic: 文

About

紊 (wěn) means tangled, disordered, or confused, a meaning rooted in the image of tangled silk threads. It is a phonosemantic compound: 糸 (mì, 'silk') indicates the meaning, while 文 (wén, 'pattern, script') supplies the sound. The character's structure places 文 above 糸, reflecting how silk can become knotted and chaotic during spinning or weaving. This concrete sense of thread-like entanglement later extended to abstract disorder, systemic chaos, administrative confusion, social upheaval, and now appears in words for disruption, metabolic disorders, and chaotic situations in both classical and modern usage.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他的生活紊乱。

Tā de shēnghuó wěnluàn.

His life is disordered.

市场秩序紊乱。

Shìchǎng zhìxù wěnluàn.

Market order is disordered.

因为停电，秩序紊乱。

Yīnwèi tíngdiàn, zhìxù wěnluàn.

Because of the power outage, order is disordered.

他的思绪紊乱，无法集中。

Tā de sīxù wěnluàn, wúfǎ jízhōng.

His thoughts are disordered, unable to concentrate.

飞机遇到紊流。

Fēijī yù dào wěnliú.

The plane encountered turbulence.

经济系统出现紊乱。

Jīngjì xìtǒng chūxiàn wěnluàn.

The economic system shows disorder.

秩序一旦紊乱，恢复就很困难。

Zhìxù yīdàn wěnluàn, huīfù jiù hěn kùnnán.

Once order is disordered, recovery is very difficult.

由于管理不善，公司运营逐渐紊乱，效益下降。

Yóuyú guǎnlǐ bù shàn, gōngsī yùnyíng zhújiàn wěnluàn, xiàoyì xiàjiàng.

Due to poor management, the company's operation gradually became disordered, and efficiency declined.

Related Characters

Component: 文

Component: 糸

紊