📖 Meaning
To be half-hearted, indecisive, or easily distracted. It describes someone who lacks focus and keeps changing their mind or shifting their attention between different things.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom appears in classical texts such as the Daoist scripture Taishang Ganying Pian (太上感应篇) and later vernacular literature. The phrase uses the numbers three and two metaphorically — not literally — to convey a scattered, unstable state of mind. It contrasts with the ideal of single-minded dedication (一心一意) praised in Confucian thought.
💡 Example Usage
做事三心二意的人，往往什么事都做不好。
People who do things half-heartedly usually can't do anything well.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 三心二意
- Pinyin: sān xīn èr yì
- Literal Translation: three hearts, two minds
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4