Chinese word

横七竖八

Pronunciation

Pinyinhéng qī shù bā

Meaning

  • idiomstrewn about

Example

地上玩具横七竖八，很难走路。dì shàng wán jù héng qī shù bā hěn nán zǒu lù

The toys are strewn across the floor, making it hard to walk.

Illustration for 横七竖八 (strewn about)

More examples

书架上的书横七竖八，找起来很费时间。shū jià shàng de shū héng qī shù bā zhǎo qǐ lái hěn fèi shí jiān

The books on the shelf are strewn about, so finding them takes a lot of time.

Core concept

Items are scattered across a space, lying sideways and upright in a disorderly spread.

Common phrases

  • 横七竖八的房间héng qī shù bā de fáng jiān

    messy room

  • 横七竖八的桌面héng qī shù bā de zhuō miàn

    messy tabletop

  • 把房间弄得横七竖八bǎ fáng jiān nòng de héng qī shù bā

    make the room a mess

Similar words

乱七八糟luàn qī bā zāo: Things are scattered all over a place, making it look thoroughly untidy.
杂乱无章zá luàn wú zhāng: A situation or arrangement is confused because it follows no order or pattern.
一塌糊涂yì tā hú tú: A situation is hopelessly chaotic and badly messed up.
东倒西歪dōng dǎo xī wāi: Things are tilted or nearly falling, with some leaning one way and some another.

Definition in Chinese

形容事物散乱地横向和纵向铺开或堆放，缺乏整齐的次序。xíng róng shì wù sàn luàn dì héng xiàng hé zòng xiàng pù kāi huò duī fàng quē fá zhěng qí de cì xù

Word origin

The idiom 横七竖八 (héngqīshùbā, "horizontal seven, vertical eight") pairs horizontal and vertical spread with two nonliteral numbers, creating a compact picture of disorder in many directions.

Usage tips

  • English often uses "all over the place" for both physical disorder and confused thinking, but this Chinese idiom strongly evokes visible objects spread in different directions.

Other meanings

  • in a messidiom
  • haphazardlyidiom

Opposites

Word lists with this word