Usage note
吵表示声音大，也可表示争执。
chǎo biǎo shì shēng yīn dà， yě kě biǎo shì zhēng zhí。
吵 means noisy, or to argue.
Context note
吵常用于环境、孩子和口语。
chǎo cháng yòng yú huán jìng 、 hái zi hé kǒu yǔ。
It is often used with environment, children, and speech.
5 examples
这里太吵了。
zhè lǐ tài chǎo le。
It is too noisy here.
他们在吵架。
tā men zài chǎo jià。
They are arguing.
孩子们很吵。
hái zi men hěn chǎo。
The children are very noisy.
请别吵。
qǐng bié chǎo。
Please be quiet.
晚上不要太吵。
wǎn shàng bú yào tài chǎo。
Do not be too noisy at night.
5 mini stories
教室里有人太吵了。
jiào shì lǐ yǒu rén tài chǎo le。
Someone in the classroom was too noisy.
他们因为小事吵了起来。
tā men yīn wèi xiǎo shì chǎo le qǐ lái。
They argued over a small matter.
外面的车声很吵。
wài miàn de chē shēng hěn chǎo。
The traffic outside is very noisy.
妈妈让孩子们别吵。
mā ma ràng hái zi men bié chǎo。
Mom told the children not to be noisy.
吵闹的环境不适合学习。
chǎo nào de huán jìng bú shì hé xué xí。
A noisy environment is not suitable for studying.
Mini dialogue
小声一点
A
外面好吵，我听不清你说话。
Wàimiàn hǎo chǎo, wǒ tīng bù qīng nǐ shuōhuà.
It's so noisy outside, I can't hear you clearly.
B
那我们进房间吧，那里不吵。
Nà wǒmen jìn fángjiān ba, nàlǐ bù chǎo.
Then let's go into the room, it's not noisy there.
别吵架
A
你们为什么吵起来了？
Nǐmen wèishénme chǎo qǐlái le?
Why did you start quarreling?
B
我们没吵，只是在讨论问题。
Wǒmen méi chǎo, zhǐshì zài tǎolùn wèntí.
We aren't quarreling, just discussing a problem.
Related words and contrasts
opposite
安静
ānjìng
quiet
Opposite of noisy
similar
闹
nào
noisy; bustling
Similar meaning, often used in 热闹 (rènao)