📖 Meaning
Describes someone who is utterly ordinary and unremarkable, lacking in talent, ambition, or achievement. It conveys a sense of mediocrity and living an uneventful, insignificant life. The term is often used critically to suggest someone is merely occupying space without making any meaningful contribution.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom traces back to 'Diangu Jiwen' (Records of Anecdotes) by Yu Jideng of the Ming Dynasty, Volume 3. In the original passage, officials entrusted with the important duty of evaluating and recommending talent were admonished to act with fairness and discernment. They were warned not to simply occupy their positions in a mediocre and ineffectual manner. Over time, the phrase broadened from its bureaucratic context to describe anyone living an unremarkable, undistinguished life.
💡 Example Usage
他不愿庸庸碌碌地度过一生，决心闯出一番事业。
He refused to spend his life in mediocrity and was determined to achieve something great.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 庸庸碌碌
- Pinyin: yōng yōng lù lù
- Literal Translation: common, common, busy, busy
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4