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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

一塌糊塗

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tʰä⁵⁵ xu³⁵ tʰu³⁵/
in a complete mess; in an awful condition; a kettle of fish
  • 一蹋糊塗
  • 一榻糊塗
  • 一塌胡塗
  • 一塌糊涂
  • 一蹋糊涂
  • 一榻糊涂
  • 一塌胡涂
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Etymology graph

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Origin

The phrase is composed of four characters: 一 (one), 塌 (to collapse; to fall down; to cave in), 糊 (congee; rice gruel; porridge), and 塗 (mud; shoal).

In terms of character formation, 塌 contains the semantic component 土 (earth; soil) and the phonetic component 𦐇 (appearance of flying high). The character 糊 uses the semantic component 米 (hulled or husked uncooked rice) and the phonetic component 胡 (wattle; dewlap). The character 塗 includes the semantic component 土 (earth; soil) and the phonetic component 涂 (used in personal names). The phonetic component 胡 itself is formed with the semantic component 肉 (meat; flesh) and the phonetic component 古 (the past; ancient times).

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

「一塌糊塗」由四個漢字組成。其中「一」代表數字一；「塌」字包含表示土地或土壤的「土」作為語義部分，並以「𦐇」作為音符；「糊」字包含表示未加工稻米的「米」作為語義部分，並以「胡」作為音符，而「胡」字本身包含表示肉或肉類的「肉」作為語義部分，並以「古」作為音符；「塗」字包含表示土地或土壤的「土」作為語義部分，並以「涂」作為音符。

在字形結構上，「塌」字描述倒塌、落下或塌陷，「糊」字指代稀粥或米糊，「塗」字則指代泥土或淺灘。

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • characterChinese一 “one”
  • characterChinese塌 “to collapse; to fall down; to cave in”
    • meaningChinese土 “earth; soil”
    • soundChinese𦐇 “appearance of flying high”
  • characterChinese糊 “congee; rice gruel; porridge”
    • meaningChinese米 “hulled or husked uncooked rice (Classifier: 粒 m c mn; 顆／颗 m)”
    • soundChinese胡 “wattle; dewlap (fleshy lobe hanging from the head or neck of animals)”
      • soundChinese古 “the past; ancient times”
      • meaningChinese肉 “meat; flesh”
  • characterChinese塗 “mud; shoal”
    • soundChinese涂 “Used in personal names.”
Wiktionary etymology text

No etymology text yet. The graph shows what is known from the sources.

Meanings

phrase
  1. in a complete mess; in an awful condition; a kettle of fish
  2. extremely; tremendously

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 形容情況非常糟糕，以致無法收拾。 例：一個醉漢把我們精心布置的會場弄得一塌糊塗。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0