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一塌糊涂 (yì tā hú tú) — in a complete mess; a total shambles; terribly (used as a complement after 得)

Definition

A vivid idiom for 'a total mess / terribly' — usually placed after 得 as a result complement. Stronger than 乱七八糟, which describes the state itself; 一塌糊塗 emphasizes how badly something went.

phrase
in a complete messa total shamblesterribly (used as a complement after 得)

Examples

  • 一塌糊涂。
    Tā bǎ jiā lǐ lòng dé yì tā hú tú.
    He made the house a complete mess.
  • 一塌糊涂。
    Zhè cì kǎo shì tā kǎo dé yì tā hú tú.
    He did terribly on this exam.
  • 一塌糊涂。
    Shì qing bèi tā gǎo dé yì tā hú tú.
    He messed things up completely.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔdirt
Sound part声符shēngfú
𦐇
𦐇𦐇塌tā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

塌 is built from 土 (dirt) and 𦐇, which gives its sound.

Open 塌 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
胡
胡hú糊hú
Same sound today

糊 pairs 米 (rice) with 胡 (hú), which gives the sound. The 米 part relates to the meaning.

Open 糊 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú涂tú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

涂 has 氵 on the left, a form of 水 meaning water, and 余 on the right for the sound.

Open 涂 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesGood & Bad

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