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杂乱无章 (zá luàn wú zhāng) — (idiom) in a state of chaos; disorganized and messy

Definition

A written/literary idiom for chaos and disorder. More formal than the spoken 乱七八糟; 一塌糊涂 is more emphatic ('a total shambles').

idiom
in a state of chaosdisorganized and messy

Examples

  • 杂乱无章，。
    Tā de shū zhuō zá luàn wú zhāng, wén jiàn duī dé dào chù dōu shì.
    His desk is a mess, with papers piled up everywhere.
  • 杂乱无章，。
    Zhè piān wén zhāng sī lù zá luàn wú zhāng, xū yào chóng xīn zhěng lǐ.
    The logic of this article is all over the place; it needs to be reorganized.
  • 杂乱无章，。
    Jí shì shàng tān wèi zá luàn wú zhāng, hěn nán zhǎo dào xiǎng mǎi de dōng xī.
    The stalls at the market are in complete disorder, making it hard to find what you want to buy.

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 雜; 杂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
集
集jí雜zá
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 雜 pairs 衣 (clothes) with 集 as a sound part, originally referring to mixed colours, perhaps in dyed clothes; the simplified 杂 is a later shorthand.

Open 杂 →

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 亂; 乱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乚Written in full as乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
𤔔
𤔔𤔔亂luàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 亂 contains 𤔔, a drawing of combing tangled threads, and 乙; the simplified 乱 is only a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 乱 →

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 →

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

章 shows a chisel piercing a piece of jade in the middle. It originally meant treating jade.

Open 章 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesOrder & Arrangement

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