Chinese word

大大咧咧

Pronunciation

Pinyindà dà liē liē

Meaning

  • adjectivecareless

Example

她做事很大大咧咧，常常忘细节。tā zuò shì hěn dà dà liē liē cháng cháng wàng xì jié

She is very careless in the way she does things and often forgets details.

Illustration for 大大咧咧 (careless)

More examples

他为人大大咧咧，所以同事们都很喜欢他。tā wéi rén dà dà liē liē suó yǐ tóng shì men dōu hěn xǐ huān tā

He is easygoing by nature, so all his coworkers like him.

Core concept

A relaxed, broad-minded manner that lets small details slip by.

Common phrases

  • 为人大大咧咧wéi rén dà dà liē liē

    be easygoing by nature

  • 做事大大咧咧zuò shì dà dà liē liē

    be careless in one's work

Similar words

随便suí biàn: Casual and unconcerned about formal rules or small details.
马虎má hǔ: Careless and sloppy in work, with little attention to details.
粗心cū xīn: Inattentive and prone to small mistakes or forgetting things.
随和suí hé: Easygoing and willing to accommodate others, while avoiding conflict.

Definition in Chinese

形容人性格随和、心胸宽松且做事不拘小节，也可指做事粗心或漫不经心。xíng róng rén xìng gé suí hé xīn xiōng kuān sōng qiě zuò shì bù jū xiǎo jié yě kě zhǐ zuò shì cū xīn huò màn bù jīng xīn

Word origin

大大咧咧 (dàdàliēliē, "carefree and unconcerned") is a spoken reduplicated expression that turns the idea of being broad and unrestrained into a vivid description of a person's manner.

Usage tips

  • The word can sound warm when describing a relaxed friend but mildly critical when describing missed details, so tone and context determine whether it is praise or criticism.

Other meanings

  • carefreeadjective
  • unconcernedadjective
  • scatterbrainedadjective

Opposites

Related words

  • 大大咧咧地dà dà liē liē dìcarelesslyadverb

Word lists with this word