📖 Meaning
Literally meaning "the weeds are uneven," this idiom describes a situation where good and bad people or things are mixed together. It characterizes a group whose quality or character varies widely, making management or judgment difficult.
📜 Origin Story
The characters 稂 (láng) and 莠 (yǒu) both refer to types of weeds that grow among grain crops, appearing in classical texts such as the Book of Songs (诗经) from the Zhou Dynasty. These weeds were used metaphorically to represent undesirable elements hidden among good ones. The idiom 稂莠不齐 is a variant of the more common 良莠不齐, which explicitly contrasts good grain (良) with weeds (莠). Without a single definitive source text, it emerged as a natural extension of the agricultural metaphor pervasive in classical Chinese.
💡 Example Usage
这班学生稂莠不齐，老师管教起来十分不易。
The students in this class are a mix of good and bad, making it very difficult for the teacher to manage.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 稂莠不齐
- Pinyin: láng yǒu bù qí
- Literal Translation: weeds, grasses, not, even
- Category: Variety
- Characters: 4