Chinese word

忙活

Pronunciation

Pinyinmáng huó

Meaning

verbkeep busy

Example

我这几天一直在忙活，没时间休息。wǒ zhè jǐ tiān yì zhí zài máng huó méi shí jiān xiū xī

I've been keeping busy these past few days and haven't had time to rest.

More examples

工地上工人们从早到晚都在忙活。gōng dì shàng gōng rén men cóng zǎo dào wǎn dōu zài máng huó

The workers at the construction site work busily from morning till night.

Core concept

Hands remain occupied as a stream of ordinary tasks gets finished.

Common phrases

忙活到天亮máng huó dào tiān liàng
work busily until dawn
和同事一起忙活hé tóng shì yì qǐ máng huó
work busily with colleagues
在工地上忙活zài gōng dì shàng máng huó
work busily at a construction site

Similar words

忙碌máng lù: Is fully occupied with work or other matters and has almost no free time.
忙着máng zhe: Is in the middle of doing something and cannot switch to another task.
忙不过来máng bú guò lái: Has more work or errands than can be dealt with effectively.
奔波bēn bō: Travels around to take care of work or errands, which can be tiring.

Definition in Chinese

口语动词，指用动作一项项完成事务而显得忙碌，既可指工作也可指家务或临时的杂事，语气生活化。kóu yǔ dòng cí zhǐ yòng dòng zuò yí xiàng xiàng wán chéng shì wù ér xiǎn de máng lù jì kě zhǐ gōng zuò yě kě zhǐ jiā wù huò lín shí de zá shì yǔ qì shēng huó huà

Word origin

忙活 (mánghuó, "to bustle about") joins 忙 (máng, "busy") with 活 (huó, "work"), linking a feeling of busyness to the concrete work that causes it.

Usage tips

With a time phrase such as "these days" or "all morning," it naturally describes activity continuing across a period rather than one finished job.

Other meanings

bustle aboutverb

Opposites

歇息xiē xīrestverb

Related words

忙活儿máng huórwork busilyverb