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混日子 (hùn rì zi) — to muddle along, to get through life aimlessly

Definition

A colloquial verb-object phrase meaning 'to muddle through life without goals or effort.' Carries a negative judgment about wasting time, unlike neutral terms like 过日子.

verb
to muddle alongto get through life aimlessly

Examples

  • 混日子，。
    Tā zhěng tiān hùn rì zi, shén me dōu bú zuò.
    He muddles along all day, not doing anything.
  • 混日子。
    Nǐ bù néng zài zhè yàng hùn rì zi xià qù le.
    You can't keep muddling along like this.
  • ，。
    Tā zài gōng sī hùn le jǐ nián rì zi, yì diǎn jìn bù dōu méi yǒu.
    He muddled along at the company for a few years without any progress.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

混hùnmuddle
日子days
日rìday子zǐsuffix
后缀Suffix

混 'muddle' with 日子 'days' suggests just getting through each day without aim.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
昆
昆kūn混hùn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

混 pairs 氵 (water) on the left with 昆 on the right, which supplies the sound.

Open 混 →

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

日 originally drew the sun. A mark was added inside to tell it apart from similar square shapes.

Open 日 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsDaily Routine

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