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烂摊子 (làn tān zǐ) — shambles, awful mess (a disastrous situation left unresolved by someone)

Definition

A '烂摊子' is a disastrous, unresolved mess — a bad situation someone else created and left you to deal with. Literally a 'rotten stall', it is more dramatic than a plain 麻烦, implying real damage and hard cleanup.

noun
shamblesawful mess (a disastrous situation left unresolved by someone)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，烂摊子。
    Tā cí zhí le, bǎ zhè ge làn tān zǐ liú gěi le tóng shì.
    He quit and left this mess to his colleagues.
  • 烂摊子，。
    Shàng yí rèn jīng lǐ liú xià de làn tān zǐ, wǒ men huā le bàn nián cái shōu shi hǎo.
    The mess the previous manager left behind took us six months to clean up.
  • 烂摊子，。
    Zhè ge àn zi yǐ jīng chéng le làn tān zǐ, shuí jiē shǒu dōu tóu téng.
    This case has become a total mess; it's a headache for whoever takes it over.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

烂lànrotten
摊子stall
摊tānstall子zǐ
后缀Suffix

烂 describes something rotten or spoiled, and 摊子 is a stall or mess, giving an awful mess.

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 爛; 烂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
闌
闌lán爛làn
Same sound today

The form 爛 pairs 火 (fire) with 闌 as the sound part; this explains 爛, not the simplified 烂.

Open 烂 →

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 攤; 摊 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
難
難nán攤tān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 攤 uses 手 (hand) and 難 for sound.

Open 摊 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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