📖 Meaning
This idiom describes the weariness and exhaustion from traveling by boat and carriage, referring broadly to fatigue from any long journey by land or water. It conveys the physical toll that extended travel takes on a person.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in Qian Zhongshu's novel 'Fortress Besieged' (围城), published in 1947, where two journalists remark that Dr. Fang has suffered the fatigue of travel and will visit the next morning instead. The term combines '舟车' (boats and carriages, meaning all forms of transportation) with '劳顿' (weariness and fatigue). While the idiom itself is not tied to a single ancient historical anecdote, it draws on the longstanding Chinese literary tradition of describing travel hardship. It has been widely used in modern and contemporary Chinese literature, including works by Gao Yang in his historical novel 'The Complete Biography of Empress Dowager Cixi.'
💡 Example Usage
经过两天的长途旅行，他已舟车劳顿，只想好好睡一觉。
After two days of long-distance travel, he was exhausted from the journey and just wanted a good night's sleep.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 舟车劳顿
- Pinyin: zhōu chē láo dùn
- Literal Translation: boat, cart, toil, fatigue
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4