EN
Open Nomto

How to say “trouble” in Chinese

麻烦
máfan

trouble; bother

adjective · HSK 4 · topic “Politeness and conversation”

“Trouble” in Chinese is 麻烦, má fan: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

麻烦 is read má fan: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

má — 2nd tonerising, like a surprised “huh?”
fan — neutral toneshort and unstressed

How to write it

麻
má — hemp, flax; numb
烦
fán — bother; annoyed

On the left, 火 “fire”; on the right, 页 “head”: your head is on fire. In 麻烦 it's read in the neutral tone: fan.

Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “麻烦”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 麻烦. Tap the sound icon to listen.

  • 麻烦你帮我开一下门máfannǐbāngwǒkāiyíxiàménWould you mind helping me open the door?
  • 麻烦您填一下这张表máfanníntiányíxiàzhèzhāngbiǎoWould you mind filling in this form?
  • 办签证的手续很麻烦。bànqiānzhèngdeshǒuxùhěnmáfanGetting a visa is a real hassle.
  • 麻烦您在这里签个字。máfannínzàizhèlǐqiāngezìWould you mind signing right here?
  • 麻烦您稍等一下máfannínshāoděngyíxiàWould you mind waiting a moment?
  • 手机一旦没电就很麻烦shǒujīyídànméidiàn,jiùhěnmáfanOnce your phone dies, the trouble starts.

More words from the lesson “Sorry to bother you”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “trouble” in Chinese?

“Trouble” in Chinese is 麻烦, pinyin máfan.

What does 麻烦 mean?

麻烦 (máfan) means “trouble; bother”.

How do you write 麻烦?

麻烦 is 2 characters: 麻 (má) — hemp, flax; numb; 烦 (fán) — bother; annoyed. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 麻烦?

麻烦 is read máfan. Tones: má — second tone, fan — neutral tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“trouble” in the lesson “Sorry to bother you”

This word is from the topic “Politeness and conversation” of HSK 4. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.

Start for free