乱七八糟 (luàn qī bā zāo) — (idiom) in a mess, chaotic, disordered

Definition

A vivid, colloquial idiom for a real mess (rooms, writing, situations) — stronger and more emphatic than 乱. Avoid in formal writing.

idiom

in a messchaoticdisordered

乱七八糟。
Tā bǎ fáng jiān nòng dé luàn qī bā zāo de.
He made the room a total mess.
乱七八糟，。
Zhè piān zuò wén xiě dé luàn qī bā zāo de, lǎo shī hěn bù mǎn yì.
This essay is written in a mess; the teacher is very dissatisfied.
乱七八糟。
luàn qī bā zāo De zhuō zi shàng fàng zhe hěn duō dōng xī.
The messy table has a lot of stuff on it.

Characters in this word

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 亂; 乱 is its simplified writing.

𤔔乚亂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

乚Written in full as乙yǐ

Sound part声符shēngfú

𤔔

𤔔𤔔亂luàn

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

The traditional form 亂 contains 𤔔, a drawing of combing tangled threads, and 乙; the simplified 乱 is only a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

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.

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.

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

米曹糟

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

曹

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

糟 pairs 米 (rice) with 曹, which gives its sound; the rice side points to liquor made from fermented rice, originally meaning unfiltered.

Appears in