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无精打采 (wú jīng dǎ cǎi) — dispirited and listless; in low spirits; downcast

Definition

An idiom for looking and acting listless and downcast — the everyday, less extreme version of 垂头丧气. Use it for someone dragging through a bad day, not a single crushing defeat.

phrase
dispirited and listlessin low spiritsdowncast

Examples

  • 无精打采，？
    Tā jīn tiān kàn qǐ lái wú jīng dǎ cǎi de, shì bu shì shēng bìng le?
    He looks listless today; is he sick?
  • 无精打采，！
    Dà jiā bú yào zhè me wú jīng dǎ cǎi, bǐ sài hái méi jié shù ne!
    Everyone, don't be so downcast; the game isn't over yet!
  • 无精打采。
    Tā wú jīng dǎ cǎi dì zuò zài shā fā shàng fā dāi.
    He sat listlessly on the sofa, staring blankly.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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
青
青qīng精jīng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

精 pairs 米 (rice) with 青, which gives the sound; the character originally meant polished rice.

Open 精 →

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shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

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 採; 采 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 采 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (采访, 采购) it is 採; in others it is 采.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
采
采cǎi採cǎi
Same sound today

The traditional form 採 combines 扌 (hand) with 采, which gives the sound and means to pick.

Open 采 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & FeelingsIdioms & Set Phrases

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