trouble
Definitions
Difficulty, problems, or a situation that causes worry
麻烦，困难；困境
Effort or inconvenience taken to do something
费事，劳神（为做某事付出的工夫）
To cause someone worry, distress, or pain
使烦恼，使担忧；使痛苦
To inconvenience someone; to bother (often polite)
麻烦，打扰（常用于客气说法）
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedtrouble is the same turb root in disguise. Latin turbāre (stir up) became Vulgar Latin turbulāre, then Old French troubler, which reshaped the spelling beyond recognition before it entered English. That French detour is why this everyday word looks unrelated to disturb and perturb — yet to trouble someone is still, at heart, to stir them up.
Root turb still carries 24 more wordsWhy It Means This
trouble is the most familiar member of the turb family, yet the one that looks least related. The clue is the French route: turbāre → turbulāre → troubler, each step blurring the spelling. Knowing this links a high-frequency everyday word back to the Latin idea of "stirring up" — the same idea behind disturb and turbulent.
Common Collocations
- 1.get into trouble惹麻烦
- 2.cause trouble制造麻烦
- 3.in trouble陷入困境
- 4.have trouble doing做某事有困难
- 5.ask for trouble自找麻烦
Example Sentences
- 1.
He's always getting into trouble at school.
- 2.
Thanks for your help — sorry to trouble you again.
- 3.
What's troubling you? You've been quiet all day.
- 4.
We had a lot of trouble finding the right address.
Easily Confused
trouble vs problem — a problem is a specific thing to be solved (a math problem, a technical problem); trouble is the broader state of difficulty or worry it causes (I'm in trouble, that caused a lot of trouble). You solve a problem; you get into / get out of trouble.