📖 Meaning
Literally meaning to drift without a fixed place to stay, this idiom describes a life of wandering aimlessly from place to place without settling down. It is used to characterize someone whose circumstances force them to move constantly, living an unsettled and rootless existence.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a poem by the Song dynasty poet Fan Chengda (范成大), titled 'Recalling My Brothers on Lantern Night' (《元夜忆群从》). In the poem, Fan Chengda expresses deep longing for his siblings scattered across the land, writing of how he pities his good brothers drifting about in a riverside village in the rain. The lines reflect the displacement and separation common during times of political turmoil and exile in the Southern Song period. Over time, the phrase came to describe anyone living a wandering, unsettled life.
💡 Example Usage
他年轻时四处打工，生活飘泊无定，直到四十岁才安定下来。
In his youth he worked odd jobs everywhere, living a drifting and unsettled life, and only settled down at the age of forty.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 飘泊无定
- Pinyin: piāo bó wú dìng
- Literal Translation: drift, anchor, without, fixed
- Category: Lifestyle
- Characters: 4