惹 (rě) · to provoke, to cause (trouble)

Meanings

1 to provoke
2 to cause (trouble)
3 to attract (unwanted attention)

Characters

惹

rě

to provoke; to cause

Examples

HSK 4

别惹他，他今天心情不好。

Bié rě tā, tā jīntiān xīnqíng bùhǎo.

Don't provoke him, he's in a bad mood today.

HSK 4

这件事惹了不少麻烦。

Zhè jiàn shì rě le bùshǎo máfan.

This matter caused quite a lot of trouble.

HSK 5

她的话惹得大家哈哈大笑。

Tā de huà rě de dàjiā hāhā dàxiào.

Her words made everyone burst out laughing.

Tips

usage

惹 commonly appears in fixed phrases: 惹麻烦 (cause trouble), 惹人注目 (attract attention), 惹祸 (bring disaster). It usually implies an unwanted or negative outcome.

memory

惹 has 心 (heart) at the bottom - when you provoke someone, you stir their heart/emotions.

Components

radical

心 xīn

heart; mind

Bottom radical 心 (heart) anchors 惹 to emotion: provoking, irritating, stirring up trouble, all of which agitate the heart. The full four-stroke 心 emphasises the inner turmoil. Same heart radical underlies the family of disturbance verbs - 怒 (anger), 怨 (resent), 慌 (panic), 急 (urgent) - all states that boil up from inside.

phonetic

若 ruò

if; like

Top phonetic 若 supplies the sound - ruò shifted to rě through vowel and tone change, a regular drift in this series. 若 itself depicts a kneeling figure with hands raised arranging hair - by extension 'to comply, be like'. As phonetic in 惹 it gives the same r-onset; same series produces 诺 (nuò, promise) and 匿 (nì, hide).