疏忽大意 (shū hu dà yì) — neglectful and careless, inattentive and neglig… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

An AABB idiom meaning 'negligent and careless' — blameworthy inattention to detail, stronger than a simple mistake. Often paired with 不能 in warnings.

idiom

neglectful and carelessinattentive and negligent

Examples

疏忽大意。
Zhè cì de shī bài wán quán shì yīn wèi tā de shū hu dà yì.
This failure was entirely due to his neglect and carelessness.
疏忽大意。
Kāi chē shí qiān wàn bù néng shū hu dà yì.
You must never be neglectful and careless when driving.
，疏忽大意。
Xiě lùn wén shí, rèn hé shū hu dà yì dōu kě néng yǐng xiǎng jié guǒ.
When writing a thesis, any neglect and carelessness can affect the outcome.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

疏忽careless

疏shūcareless忽hūneglect

联合Side by side

大意careless

大dàcoarse意yìmind

偏正Modifier + head

“疏忽” and “大意” both mean careless, so the saying stacks two ways to stress inattention.

Characters in this word

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

疋疋pǐ
㐬㐬㐬

The form 疏 combines 㐬 with 疋, where 疋 supplies the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

勿心忽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

勿

勿wù忽hū

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

忽 combines 心, meaning heart, and 勿, used for its sound.

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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