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作怪

Mandarin · pinyin zuò guài

(of a ghost) to make strange things happen
to act up
to act behind the scenes
to make mischief
odd
to misbehave (euphemism for having sex)

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Characters in this entry

作: zuò · make; work; compose, write; act, perform
怪: guài · strange, unusual, peculiar

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · zuo4 guai4

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zok3 gwaai3

Cantonese word readings for 作怪. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to do mischief; to make trouble

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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