DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

折騰

简折腾 · 繁折騰

Mandarin · pinyin zhē teng

to toss from side to side (e.g. sleeplessly)
to repeat sth over and over again
to torment sb
to play crazy
to squander (time, money)

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Characters in this entry

折: zhé · break off, snap; bend
騰: Look up this written character
腾: téng · fly; gallop; run; prance; rise

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

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Mandarin tones

1–5 · zhe1 teng5

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

折騰 · find source passages ↗ · 折腾 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 5 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

verb

(colloquial) to toss about; to be restless
(colloquial) to do (something) over and over again
(colloquial) to torment; to cause mental suffering
(colloquial) to disturb; to cause trouble
(colloquial) to waste; to squander

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

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