兵荒马乱 (bīng huāng mǎ luàn) — turmoil and chaos of war; a state of upheaval and disorder during armed conflict

Definition

A chengyu describing a society torn apart by war — social collapse, panic, and disorder. Note: 兵 and 马 must reverse to 马乱兵荒 in some literary contexts.

idiom
turmoil and chaos of wara state of upheaval and disorder during armed conflict

Examples

  • 兵荒马乱，。
    Zài nà duàn bīng huāng mǎ luàn de shí qī, bǎi xìng de shēng huó fēi cháng tòng kǔ.
    During that period of war and chaos, the common people's lives were very painful.
  • ，兵荒马乱。
    Lì shǐ shàng, bīng huāng mǎ luàn de shí dài wǎng wǎng dài lái jù dà de pò huài.
    In history, times of turmoil and chaos of war often bring great destruction.
  • 兵荒马乱，。
    Zhè lǐ céng jīng bīng huāng mǎ luàn, xiàn zài yǐ jīng huī fù le hé píng.
    This place was once in the chaos of war, but now it has restored peace.

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.

兵荒soldier disorder
兵bīngsoldiers荒huāngdisorder
主谓Subject + predicate
马乱horse disorder
马mǎhorses乱luàndisorder
主谓Subject + predicate

兵荒 and 马乱 picture disorder among soldiers and horses, giving the chaos of war.

Characters in this word

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

  • 斤斤jīna short axe
  • 廾廾gǒng2 hands

兵 combines 斤, a short axe, with 廾, two hands, showing a pair of hands holding a weapon.

Open 兵 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss, plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
巟
巟huāng荒huāng
Same sound today

荒 is built from 艹 (grass, plant) and 巟, with 巟 giving the sound huāng.

Open 荒 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Open 马 →

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.

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.

Open 乱 →

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