📖 Meaning
Describes a situation that is unstable, unsettled, and not peaceful. It is commonly used to characterize turbulent political or social circumstances. The idiom conveys a sense of ongoing upheaval and lack of stability.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in Tao Juyin's 'History of the Northern Warlords' Rule Period' (《北洋军阀统治时期史话》), Chapter 77, a work chronicling the chaotic warlord era of early republican China. In the cited passage, Guangdong-series troops invaded southern Hunan, and the situation in the two Hubei provinces (Hubei and Hunan) remained in a state of turmoil and uncertainty. The idiom captures the pervasive instability that defined the warlord period of the Republic of China.
💡 Example Usage
在那个动荡不定的年代，许多人被迫背井离乡。
In that turbulent and unsettled era, many people were forced to leave their homes behind.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 动荡不定
- Pinyin: dòng dàng bù dìng
- Literal Translation: turbulent, not, settled
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4