Chinese word

一锅粥

Pronunciation

Pinyinyī guō zhōu

Meaning

  • idioma mess

Example

他的房间一锅粥，东西哪儿也找不到。tā de fáng jiān yì guō zhōu dōng xī nǎr yě zhǎo bú dào

His room is a mess, and nothing can be found anywhere.

Illustration for 一锅粥 (a mess)

More examples

孩子把厨房弄得一锅粥，妈妈无奈地叹气。hái zi bǎ chú fáng nòng de yì guō zhōu mā mā wú nài dì tàn qì

The child made the kitchen a mess, and the mother sighed helplessly.

Core concept

A single pot in which everything has blended together until separate parts can no longer be told apart.

Common phrases

  • 弄得一锅粥nòng de yì guō zhōu

    make a mess

  • 变成一锅粥biàn chéng yì guō zhōu

    become a mess

  • 把房间弄成一锅粥bǎ fáng jiān nòng chéng yì guō zhōu

    make the room a mess

Similar words

一团糟yì tuán zāo: A situation in complete disorder that is difficult to deal with or put right.
乱七八糟luàn qī bā zāo: Extremely untidy and disorganized, with things scattered around.
一塌糊涂yì tā hú tú: A severely chaotic state that is almost impossible to remedy.
杂乱无章zá luàn wú zhāng: Disorganized and lacking any clear order or structure.

Definition in Chinese

口语中常用来表示秩序全无、难以收拾的混乱状态，强调各部分混合在一起而无法分辨。kóu yǔ zhōng cháng yòng lái biǎo shì zhì xù quán wú nán yǐ shōu shí de hùn luàn zhuàng tài qiáng diào gè bù fèn hùn hé zài yì qǐ ér wú fǎ fēn biàn

Word origin

一锅粥 (yīguōzhōu, "a pot of porridge") extends a literal image of ingredients losing their separate forms to a situation whose parts have become confused and hard to sort out.

Usage tips

  • In casual speech, 一锅粥 (yīguōzhōu, "a mess") can describe a room or situation even when no food is present, making it a vivid state description.

Other meanings

  • chaosidiom

Opposites

Word lists with this word