‘娇惯’ is a compound verb meaning to spoil or indulge someone—especially a child or pet—to an excessive degree, often resulting in poor behavior or lack of resilience. The first character 娇 (jiāo) conveys tenderness, delicacy, or pampering, while 惯 (guàn) means ‘to accustom’ or ‘to make habitual’. Together, they describe the act of repeatedly indulging someone’s desires until those behaviors become ingrained. It carries a distinctly negative connotation, implying overprotection and failure to set boundaries.

This word is most commonly used in family or caregiving contexts—parents spoiling children, grandparents indulging grandchildren, or even pet owners over-coddling animals. It rarely appears in formal writing but is frequent in everyday speech, advice columns, and parenting discussions. Unlike neutral terms like ‘love’ or ‘care’, 娇惯 implies imbalance: affection without discipline, leniency without guidance.