乐不思蜀 (lè bù sī shǔ) — to be so happy as to forget one's home and duty; to indulge in pleasure and forget one's responsibilities

Definition

A chengyu from the Three Kingdoms story of Liu Chan, who enjoyed himself in Luo's capital and forgot his own kingdom. Now used to describe someone so absorbed in pleasure that they forget home, duty, or responsibilities.

idiom
to be so happy as to forget one's home and dutyto indulge in pleasure and forget one's responsibilities

Examples

  • 乐不思蜀，。
    Tā chū guó lǚ yóu hòu lè bù sī shǔ, lián jiā dōu bù xiǎng huí le.
    After traveling abroad, he was so happy that he forgot about home and didn't even want to go back.
  • ，乐不思蜀。
    Xiǎo lǐ zài gōng sī nián huì shàng wán dé hěn kāi xīn, jiǎn zhí lè bù sī shǔ.
    Xiao Li had so much fun at the company's annual party that he was practically lost in pleasure and forgot about everything else.
  • 乐不思蜀，。
    Bié tài lè bù sī shǔ le, gōng zuò hái méi zuò wán ne.
    Don't get too carried away with pleasure — the work isn't done yet.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樂; 乐 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 樂, 絲 (string) with 木 (wood) shows strings on a piece of wood, a musical instrument; the simplified 乐 is a later shorthand.

Open 乐 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
囟
囟xìn思sī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 思, 心 (heart) points to thinking, while the top part is a changed form of 囟, which supplied the sound.

Open 思 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 蜀 →

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