折腾 zhēteng

1. toss from side to side (e.g. sleeplessly)
2. do something over and over again
3. cause suffering
4. play crazy

These meanings come from the same dictionary that powers the Chinese to Pinyin translator and the Chinese to English translator, so a whole sentence containing 折腾 will read it the same way this page does.

折腾 is written with 2 characters. Chinese words are usually easier to remember once you can see what each part contributes.

What does 折腾 mean in English?

折腾 is pronounced zhēteng and means toss from side to side (e.g. sleeplessly), do something over and over again, cause suffering, play crazy.

How do you pronounce 折腾?

折腾 is zhēteng in pinyin — written zheteng without tone marks. Press the audio button on this page to hear it spoken by a native voice.

What are the characters in 折腾?

折腾 is written with 2 characters: 折 (shé / zhé / zhē) Break (snap - lose money); Break (lose - fold - to turn), 腾 (téng) Gallop (jump - rise - vacate - excite). Knowing the parts is usually how the whole word becomes memorable.

How is 折腾 written in traditional Chinese?

折騰. The simplified form 折腾 is used in mainland China and Singapore; 折騰 is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Both are pronounced zhēteng.

Is 折腾 an HSK word?

Yes — 折腾 is on the official HSK 6 vocabulary list. You can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 6 page.