📖 Meaning
Literally 'seven scoops and eight disturbances,' this idiom describes a mind that gropes and flails about restlessly, never settling into calm. It portrays a state of mental confusion and agitation in which thoughts are scattered, turbulent, and unable to find rest.
📜 Origin Story
This expression follows the common Chinese rhetorical pattern of 'seven... eight...' used in folk idioms to convey disorder and scattered activity. '捞' (lāo) means to grope or scoop blindly, while '攘' (rǎng) means to push, jostle, or stir up; together they evoke the image of hands flailing aimlessly about. This physical image is then mapped metaphorically onto a restless and disordered mind. No specific literary origin or canonical source has been recorded for the phrase.
💡 Example Usage
临近考试，他心里七捞八攘，怎么也静不下心来复习。
With the exam approaching, his mind was in a turmoil and he simply could not settle down to study.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 七捞八攘
- Pinyin: qī lāo bā rǎng
- Literal Translation: seven, scoop, eight, disturb
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4