搞鬼

gǎoguǐ

verb HSK 7-9 #12,475

Meanings

1 to play tricks; to be up to no good
2 to engage in shady dealings

Characters

Literally 'do ghost stuff' — doing things secretly and sneakily, like a ghost.

Examples

别在背后搞鬼！

Bié zài bèihòu gǎoguǐ!

Don't pull tricks behind people's backs!

一定是有人在搞鬼。

Yídìng shì yǒurén zài gǎoguǐ.

Someone must be up to something.

Tips

usage

鬼 (ghost) in Chinese often means 'sneaky' or 'mischievous' rather than scary. 搞鬼 is colloquial and accusatory. Related expressions: 鬼鬼祟祟 (guǐguǐsuìsuì, acting suspicious), 捣鬼 (dǎoguǐ, to cause trouble behind the scenes).

Stroke Order

搞 gǎo

鬼 guǐ