折腾

折騰

zhēteng

verb HSK 7-9 #7,063

Meanings

1 to toss and turn
2 to torment
3 to mess around with
4 to cause trouble

Characters

to toss; to turn over

to gallop; to move about

Examples

别折腾了，赶紧睡觉吧。

Bié zhēteng le, gǎnjǐn shuìjiào ba.

Stop tossing around and go to sleep.

这个项目把我们折腾得够呛。

Zhège xiàngmù bǎ wǒmen zhēteng de gòuqiàng.

This project really put us through the wringer.

他一晚上翻来覆去地折腾。

Tā yī wǎnshang fānláifùqù de zhēteng.

He tossed and turned all night.

Tips

usage

折腾 is very colloquial and versatile. It can mean physical tossing, mental torment, or wasting effort on something. 别折腾了 = stop messing around / stop making a fuss.

register

Informal/colloquial. Very common in spoken Chinese. Avoid in formal writing.

Stroke Order

折 zhé

腾 téng