TongTong
Sign in

狼狈 (láng bèi) — in a difficult situation; to cut a sorry figure; embarrassed and flustered

Definition

An adjective describing someone in an awkward, flustered, hard-to-handle situation (appearance, state, not a person). Unlike 无赖 ('scoundrel'), it judges the moment, not the character; 不知所措 focuses on the inner feeling of being at a loss.

adjective
in a difficult situationto cut a sorry figureembarrassed and flustered

Examples

  • ，狼狈。
    Tā zuó tiān zài huì yì shàng shuō cuò le huà, yàng zi fēi cháng láng bèi.
    He said the wrong thing at the meeting yesterday and looked completely flustered.
  • 狼狈。
    Zhè chǎng dà yǔ ràng tā men de lǚ xíng biàn de shí fēn láng bèi.
    This heavy rain made their trip very difficult and embarrassing.
  • 狼狈。
    Kǎo shì bù jí gé ràng tā gǎn dào fēi cháng láng bèi.
    Failing the exam made him feel very embarrassed.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

狼láng
狈bèi

The characters 狼 and 狈 carry no meaning of their own here; together they describe an awkward, troubled state.

Sound-only characters

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
良
良liáng狼láng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 犭 (full form 犬) shows a dog-like animal. The right part 良 gives the sound.

Open 狼 →

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 狽; 狈 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
貝
貝bèi狽
Same sound today

The traditional form 狽 pairs 犬 (dog) with 貝 as a sound part; the simplified 狈 is a later shorthand.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & Feelings

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.