Word

乱七八糟 (luàn qī bā zāo) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 7

Meaning of 乱七八糟

形 xíng adjective

messy; in a mess; chaotic

他的房间乱七八糟的，到处都是衣服。

tā de fáng jiān luàn qī bā zāo de dào chù dōu shì yī fu

His room is a mess, with clothes everywhere.

Word breakdown

乱 luàn — chaos; disorder

七 qī — seven (used idiomatically with 八 to suggest randomness)

八 bā — eight (used idiomatically with 七 to suggest randomness)

1 七嘴八舌 qī zuǐ bā shé — all talking at once HSK 7
- 七 seven (indicating multiplicity)
- 嘴 mouth (representing people speaking)
- 八 eight (emphasizing multiplicity)
- 舌 tongue (representing speech)
Example

听到这个消息，同学们七嘴八舌地议论起来。

tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi tóng xué men qī zuǐ bā shé de yì lùn qǐ lái

Hearing this news, the classmates all started talking at once.
2 五花八门 wǔ huā bā mén — of great variety HSK 7
- 五 five - symbolizes multiplicity
- 花 flower/pattern - represents variety of patterns
- 八 eight - emphasizes multiplicity
- 门 door/category - represents different categories
Example

市场上的商品五花八门。

shì chǎng shàng de shāng pǐn wǔ huā bā mén

The goods at the market are of great variety.
3 八卦 bā guà — gossip; the Eight Trigrams (Bagua) HSK 7
- 八 eight (from Eight Trigrams, traditional origin)
- 卦 trigram/divination (in modern use: gossip)
Example

她最喜欢听八卦了。

tā zuì xǐ huān tīng bā guà le

She loves to listen to gossip.
4 八成 bā chéng — most likely HSK 7
- 八 eight (representing 80%)
- 成 tenth, part (one out of ten)
Example

他八成不会来了。

tā bā chéng bù huì lái le

He most likely won't come.
5 四通八达 sì tōng bā dá — extending in all directions; well-connected HSK 7
- 四 four; representing multiple directions
- 通 through; connected, passable
- 八 eight; representing even more directions
- 达 reach; extend to, arrive at
Example

这个城市的交通四通八达，去哪里都很方便。

zhè ge chéng shì de jiāo tōng sì tōng bā dá qù nǎ lǐ dōu hěn fāng biàn

This city's transportation extends in all directions, it's very convenient to go anywhere.

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6 四面八方 sì miàn bā fāng — from all directions HSK 7
- 四 four (representing the four cardinal directions)
- 面 side/face (referring to sides or surfaces)
- 八 eight (representing the eight directions)
- 方 direction/side (referring to directions or areas)
Example

人们从四面八方赶来参加庆祝活动。

rén men cóng sì miàn bā fāng gǎn lái cān jiā qìng zhù huó dòng

People came from all directions to participate in the celebration.

糟 zāo — terrible; in a mess; bad condition

1 糟糕 zāo gāo — terrible HSK 5
- 糟 bad, poor (originally 'dregs')
- 糕 intensifies the negative meaning
Example

糟糕，我忘记带钱包了！

zāo gāo wǒ wàng jì dài qián bāo le

Oh no, I forgot to bring my wallet!
2 糟粕 zāo pò — dross, worthless remnants HSK 7
- 糟 dregs, lees (from brewing)
- 粕 sediment, residue (from processing)
Example

我们应该批判地继承传统文化，去其糟粕，取其精华。

wǒ men yīng gāi pī pàn de jì chéng chuán tǒng wén huà qù qí zāo pò qǔ qí jīng huá

We should critically inherit traditional culture, removing its dross and keeping its essence.
3 糟蹋 zāo tà — to waste; to ruin; to spoil HSK 7
- 糟 waste; spoil (contributes the sense of making something bad or wasted)
- 蹋 trample; damage (contributes the sense of rough treatment or destruction)
Example

不要糟蹋粮食。

bù yào zāo tà liáng shi

Don't waste food.