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七零八 (qī líng bā) — (colloquial) scattered, messy, in disarray

Definition

A colloquial set fragment (from 七零八落) meaning 'scattered and in disarray' — usually describes things strewn about, not abstract disorder. Takes the adjectival form 七零八落, not 七零八 alone.

numeral
(colloquial) scatteredmessyin disarray

Examples

  • 七零八，。
    Tā de dōng xī fàng dé qī líng bā de, hěn nán zhǎo.
    His things are placed in a mess, hard to find.
  • 七零八。
    Zhè xiē wén jiàn qī líng bā dì duī zài zhuō zi shàng.
    These documents are piled on the desk in disarray.
  • 七零八，。
    Fáng jiān lǐ de dōng xī qī líng bā yí piàn, xū yào shōu shi.
    The room is in a scattered mess and needs tidying.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 七 comes from two crossing lines: the top line runs left to right, and the next line goes down and across.

Open 七 →

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
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng零líng
Same sound today

In 零, the 雨 part depicts thick raindrops falling from the sky; the 令 part gives the sound.

Open 零 →

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

八 shows two bent lines, indicating the original meaning 'to divide'; it was later used for 'eight' because the words sounded alike.

Open 八 →
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Idioms & Set Phrases

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