漫不经心 (màn bù jīng xīn) — (chengyu) careless; offhand; inattentive; negli…

Definition

An idiom meaning 'careless, inattentive' — emphasizes a casual, distracted attitude rather than inability. Pairs with 态度 or 地 + verb (e.g. 漫不经心地翻阅).

idiom

(chengyu) carelessoffhandinattentivenegligent

漫不经心，。
Tā zuò shì zǒng shì màn bù jīng xīn, jīng cháng chū cuò.
He's always careless when doing things and often makes mistakes.
漫不经心，。
Tā màn bù jīng xīn dì sǎo le yì yǎn, méi fā xiàn shén me wèn tí.
She glanced offhandedly and didn't notice any problems.
漫不经心。
Lǎo shī pī píng le tā màn bù jīng xīn de tài dù.
The teacher criticized his careless attitude.

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.

氵曼漫

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐ

Sound part声符shēngfú

曼

Same sound today

漫 uses 氵 (water) and 曼 for the sound; 曼 also means “vast, extended,” showing water spread out or overflowing.

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

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 經; 经 is its simplified writing.

糹巠經

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糹Written in full as糸mìsilk; thread

Sound part声符shēngfú

巠

巠jīng經jīng

Same sound today

The traditional form 經 combines 糹 (silk; thread) with 巠, which gives the sound.

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

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Appears in