fén
棼
chaotic; tangled; disorderly
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesadjective
chaotic; tangled; disorderly; confused
literaryUsed in classical or literary Chinese. Most commonly encountered in the idiom 治丝益棼 (trying to sort silk threads but only making them more tangled), describing a situation that worsens when one tries to fix it.
Chǔ处
lǐ理
zhè这
zhǒng种
wèn问
tí题
bù不
néng能
jí急
zào躁
，
fǒu否
zé则
zhǐ只
huì会
zhì治
sī丝
yì益
fén棼
。
You cannot be impatient when dealing with this kind of problem, otherwise you will only make things worse.
Cháo朝
zhèng政
hùn混
luàn乱
，
zhì治
sī丝
yì益
fén棼
，
bǎi百
xìng姓
kǔ苦
bù不
kān堪
yán言
。
The imperial court was in chaos, making things increasingly tangled, and the people suffered unbearably.
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Tā他
de的
sī思
lù路
shí十
fēn分
fén棼
luàn乱
，
nán难
yǐ以
lǐ理
qīng清
。
His thoughts were extremely chaotic and difficult to sort out.