烂摊子 (làn tān zǐ) — shambles, awful mess (a disastrous situation left unresolved by someone)
Definition
A '烂摊子' is a disastrous, unresolved mess — a bad situation someone else created and left you to deal with. Literally a 'rotten stall', it is more dramatic than a plain 麻烦, implying real damage and hard cleanup.
noun
shamblesawful mess (a disastrous situation left unresolved by someone)
Measure word · 个
Examples
- ，烂摊子。Tā cí zhí le, bǎ zhè ge làn tān zǐ liú gěi le tóng shì.He quit and left this mess to his colleagues.
- 烂摊子，。Shàng yí rèn jīng lǐ liú xià de làn tān zǐ, wǒ men huā le bàn nián cái shōu shi hǎo.The mess the previous manager left behind took us six months to clean up.
- 烂摊子，。Zhè ge àn zi yǐ jīng chéng le làn tān zǐ, shuí jiē shǒu dōu tóu téng.This case has become a total mess; it's a headache for whoever takes it over.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.