📖 Meaning
Appearing and disappearing without any regular pattern, making movements impossible to predict or track. It describes something or someone that comes and goes unpredictably, eluding observation or capture.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from a Song Dynasty memorial written by the official Li Gang titled 'Letter to the Prime Minister on Defending Against Bandits.' Li Gang argued that these bandits were unlike ordinary land-based thieves because they operated across a vast interconnected lake region spanning a thousand li. Their movements were irregular and unpredictable, appearing and vanishing without warning, which made them far more difficult to suppress than conventional foes.
💡 Example Usage
湖中盗匪出没不常，官兵屡次围捕皆无功而返。
The bandits on the lake appeared and disappeared unpredictably, and the government troops returned empty-handed after repeated attempts to encircle them.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 出没不常
- Pinyin: chū mò bù cháng
- Literal Translation: appear, disappear, not, constant
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4