东倒西歪 (dōng dǎo xī wāi) — (of a person) staggering, tottering, unsteady on one's feet; (of objects) leaning, dilapidated, falling apart

Definition

A vivid chengyu describing people or things that are unsteady, leaning, or falling apart. Usually modifies a subject with 的 (e.g. 走路东倒西歪的, 房子东倒西歪的) rather than standing alone.

idiom
(of a person) staggeringtotteringunsteady on one's feet(of objects) leaningdilapidatedfalling apart

Examples

  • ，东倒西歪。
    Tā hē zuì le, zǒu lù dōng dǎo xī wāi de.
    He was drunk and walked all wobbly.
  • 东倒西歪，。
    Nà jiān lǎo fáng zi yǐ jīng dōng dǎo xī wāi, kuài yào tā le.
    That old house is already dilapidated and about to collapse.
  • ，，东倒西歪。
    Lèi le yì tiān, wǒ zhàn dōu zhàn bù wěn, shēn zi dōng dǎo xī wāi de.
    After a long day, I could barely stand — my body was swaying all over the place.

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.

东倒tilt east
东dōngeast倒dǎotilt
偏正Modifier + head
西歪lean west
西xīwest歪wāicrooked
偏正Modifier + head

东倒 means tilt east and 西歪 means lean west, so it pictures falling or leaning every which way.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 東; 东 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 東 originally drew a full bag tied at both ends. The simplified 东 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 东 →

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
到
到dào倒dào
Same sound today

倒 combines 亻 (person) with 到, which gives the sound.

Open 倒 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 西 →

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

歪 is written with 不 (not) above 正 (straight; proper), so the shape shows something that is not straight.

Open 歪 →

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