乱七八糟
- Literal
- messy seven, eight rotten
- Figurative
- In a complete mess, all jumbled up and chaotic; also said of a tangled or muddled situation.
Where does 乱七八糟 come from?
It does not come from a specific anecdote; it is a very common colloquial expression in everyday speech. It is built from two parallel pairs in which the numbers "seven" and "eight" are not literal counts but evoke profusion and confusion, a frequent device in Chinese sayings (compare 七嘴八舌 or 七上八下). The words carrying the meaning are 乱 ("disordered") and 糟 ("spoiled"), which reinforce the sense of utter disorder.
How is 乱七八糟 used? Two examples
- 他的房间乱七八糟，地上到处都是衣服。
His room is a total mess; there are clothes all over the floor.
- 开会的时候大家七嘴八舌，把计划讨论得乱七八糟。
In the meeting everyone talked at once and left the plan in a total mess.
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