大包大揽 (dà bāo dà lǎn) — to assume all responsibilities or authority (often in a bossy or excessive way)

Definition

Means to take on every task or decision yourself, often leaving no room for others — usually carries a negative tone of being over-controlling or over-committed.

idiom
to assume all responsibilities or authority (often in a bossy or excessive way)

Examples

  • 大包大揽，。
    Tā shén me shì dōu dà bāo dà lǎn, jié guǒ bǎ zì jǐ lèi kuǎ le.
    He takes on everything, and as a result, he exhausted himself.
  • 大包大揽，。
    Zhè jiàn shì nǐ bié dà bāo dà lǎn le, jiāo gěi bié rén fēn dān yí xià.
    Don't take on this matter all by yourself; let others share some of it.
  • 大包大揽，。
    Lǐng dǎo xǐ huan dà bāo dà lǎn, xià shǔ fǎn ér méi yǒu fā huī kōng jiān.
    The leader likes to monopolize everything, leaving subordinates with no room to show their abilities.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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

The shape of 包 pictures a fetus in a womb, or a baby wrapped in cloth.

Open 包 →

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 攬; 揽 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
覽
覽lǎn攬lǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 攬 pairs 扌 (hand) with the sound part 覽, giving the sense of grasping with the hand; the simplified 揽 is a shorthand.

Open 揽 →

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