Definition
整人 is a separable verb (离合词) meaning to prank, mess with, or make someone suffer — often in a playful or malicious way. It's colloquial and common in everyday talk about teasing, playing tricks, or retaliating. The 整 and 人 can split: you can insert a measure word or duration between them (整了他一顿 'gave him a hard time once'), and 人 can be replaced by a specific person (整他 'mess with him'). Don't confuse with the literal 'fix someone' — it's more like 'gotcha' behavior.
v.o.
to prank someoneto mess with someoneto make someone suffer (often playfully or vengefully)
Examples
- 整人,。Tā lǎo xǐhuan zhěng rén, dàjiā dōu yǒudiǎn pà tā.He always likes to mess with people, everyone is a bit afraid of him.
- 。Zuótiān tā bèi zhěng de hěn cǎn.He was pranked really badly yesterday.
- ,。Zhè cì wánxiào kāi dà le, tā zhěng le wǒ yì huí.This joke went too far; he played a trick on me once.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.