应接不暇 (yìng jiē bù xiá) — overwhelmed by more than one can handle (especially visitors, tasks, or demands)

Definition

A set idiom meaning there is more to deal with than one can manage — usually people, tasks, or requests coming in faster than you can respond. Typically describes being overwhelmed at the moment, not a permanent state.

idiom
overwhelmed by more than one can handle (especially visitors, tasks, or demands)

Examples

  • ，应接不暇。
    Lǚ yóu wàng jì de shí hou, dǎo yóu men máng dé yìng jiē bù xiá.
    During peak tourist season, the tour guides are so busy they can't keep up.
  • ，，应接不暇。
    Xīn diàn kāi zhāng dì yī tiān, gù kè tài duō, fú wù yuán yìng jiē bù xiá.
    On the first day of the new store opening, there were so many customers that the staff couldn't handle them all.
  • ，应接不暇。
    Tā yí gè rén yào chǔ lǐ zhè me duō wén jiàn, zhēn shì yìng jiē bù xiá.
    He has to handle so many documents all by himself — it's really overwhelming.

Origin

Characters in this word

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 應; 应 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
䧹
䧹䧹應yìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 應 pairs 心 (heart) with 䧹 as a sound part; the simplified 应 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the original components.

Open 应 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
妾
妾qiè接jiē
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, matching the sense of receiving something in the hand, while 妾 gives the character its sound.

Open 接 →

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
日日rìsun
Sound part声符shēngfú
叚
叚jiǎ暇xiá
Same sound today

暇 is built from 日 (sun) and 叚, which gives the sound.

Open 暇 →

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