纠缠

• Pinyin: jiū chán
• Hanzi breakdown: 纠 = 糸 (silk thread) + 丩 (twisted) — twisted thread; 缠 = 糸 (silk thread) + 廛 (phonetic) — to wind around

Meaning

To tangle; to entangle; to pester; to get caught up in.

Used for physical entanglement (ropes, limbs) and figurative entanglement (arguments, relationships, legal disputes). The sense of being ensnared and unable to break free is central. 与某事纠缠 = to be caught up in something; 被某人纠缠 = to be pestered by someone. Carries a negative connotation of messy, unresolved entanglement.

Examples

1. 两家公司在专利问题上纠缠了整整三年，双方都身心俱疲。 The two companies were entangled in a patent dispute for a full three years, leaving both sides physically and mentally exhausted.
2. 她劝他不要再为过去的错误纠缠不休，应该向前看。 She advised him to stop dwelling on past mistakes and to look ahead.
3. 这条绳子被风吹得纠缠在一起，解了好半天才理顺。 The rope got tangled up in the wind and took a long time to sort out.

Usage Guide

Context: disputes, relationships, physical entanglement

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 别跟这种人纠缠，离远点就好。(Don't get tangled up with that kind of person — just stay well away.)
• 双方在细节问题上纠缠不休，谈判一直无法推进。(Both sides kept getting bogged down in details, and the negotiations simply couldn't move forward.)

Don't Say

• 我们在街上纠缠了一下，聊得很开心。(纠缠 always implies unwanted or messy entanglement — it's not used for pleasant encounters)

Origin & History

纠 (to twist, to correct, to entangle — originally: twisted rope fibres) + 缠 (to wind around, to entangle). Both characters relate to twisting and winding, reinforcing the idea of inescapable entanglement.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal