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無理取鬧

简无理取闹 · 繁無理取鬧

Mandarin · pinyin wú lǐ qǔ nào

(idiom) to make trouble without reason; to be deliberately provocative

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Characters in this entry

無: Look up this written character
理: lǐ · reason, logic; manage
取: qǔ · take, receive, obtain; select
鬧: Look up this written character
无: wú · negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71
闹: nào · quarrel; dispute hotly

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–3–4 · wu2 li3 qu3 nao4

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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.

無理取鬧 · find source passages ↗ · 无理取闹 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mou4 lei5 ceoi2 naau6

Cantonese word readings for 無理取鬧. 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) to make a fuss out of nothing; to throw a tantrum without reason; to be deliberately provocative
(idiomatic) vexatious

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

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