骚 sāo to annoy
to annoy; to bother; to disturb
怎么记住“骚”: 马 horse + 蚤 flea = to annoy. The old horse stamps and swishes its tail all afternoon, because one tiny flea never stops trying to annoy it.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
骚 = 马 horse + 蚤 flea
- 马 horse meaning
- 蚤 flea sound
The old horse stamps and swishes its tail all afternoon, because one tiny flea never stops trying to annoy it.
How it came to be
The horse gives the meaning and the flea the sound.
用法
- Two threads. (1) To harass/disturb: 骚扰 (sāorǎo) to harass; 性骚扰 (xìng sāorǎo) sexual harassment; 骚乱 (sāoluàn) a riot, unrest. (2) 牢骚 (láosāo) grievances/griping: 发牢骚 (fā láosāo) to grumble, air complaints.
- Colloquially 骚 alone can also mean flirtatious/coquettish or, in slang, 'showy': register-sensitive, sometimes crude.
- For learners, anchor on 骚扰 and 发牢骚, the two safe high-frequency uses.