8 Chinese Idioms With the Number Seven (七)

Anxious and unsettled

Literal: Seven up eight down

This numerical idiom uses seven (七) up (上) and eight (八) down (下) to describe a state of anxious confusion, originating from Song Dynasty vernacular expressions. The numbers themselves carry no specific meaning beyond creating rhythmic opposition to represent mental turmoil. The phrase gained promin...

Many people busily working together in disorder

Literal: Seven hands eight feet

Tang Dynasty temple construction projects gave birth to this vivid phrase describing numerous hands (七手) and feet (八脚) moving simultaneously. The image of multiple workers in confined spaces, creating organized chaos, resonated through the ages. Song Dynasty writers found humor in these scenes of we...

Complete disorganization and messiness

Literal: Chaotic seven eight messy

Ming Dynasty vernacular literature gave us this wonderfully expressive phrase for utter chaos involving numerous (七八) elements in complete disarray (糟). Unlike more scholarly idioms, it emerged from the everyday language of households and marketplaces. Qing Dynasty novels employed it to paint vivid ...

Everyone talking at once; lively discussion

Literal: Seven mouths eight tongues

This idiom uses the numbers seven (七) and eight (八), which in Chinese often suggest 'many' or 'various,' combined with mouths (嘴) and tongues (舌) to describe multiple people talking simultaneously. The phrase emerged during the Ming Dynasty in colloquial literature depicting lively scenes of debate ...

Very high probability at about 80-90 percent

Literal: Ten has eight nine

Song Dynasty scholars, debating the nature of probability, gave us this precise way of expressing likelihood - that out of ten cases (十), eight or nine (八九) will occur as expected. The phrase offered a mathematical precision between absolute certainty and mere possibility. Ming Dynasty merchants ado...

Habitually forgetful and disorganized

Literal: Lose three drop four

Ming Dynasty vernacular speech captured this pattern of losing three things (丢三) and dropping four (落四). The non-sequential numbers created a perfect image of random, unpredictable losses rather than systematic problems. Qing Dynasty officials adopted it to evaluate servant reliability. Today it des...

Essentially the same despite appearances

Literal: Half catty eight taels

This idiom originated from Ming Dynasty marketplace terminology, first appearing in vernacular literature describing equivalent items differently packaged or presented. During the Qing Dynasty, it entered common usage for comparing people or things superficially different but substantively identical...

Extending in all directions; well-connected

Literal: Connected in four directions, reaching in eight

This idiom originated during the Warring States period and appears in 'Records of the Grand Historian' (史记). It describes roads or passages that connect and extend in all directions - four (四) main directions and eight (八) secondary ones, covering all possible paths. Originally used to describe the ...