七零八

qīlíngbā
phrase #33,570

Meanings

  1. 1 (fragment) 'seven-zero-eight' — the opening of idioms like 七零八落 (scattered, in disarray) or 七零八碎 (bits and pieces)

Examples

Wū lǐ de dōngxi bèi fān de qīlíngbāluò.
The things in the room had been turned upside down — everything scattered.
Zhuō shàng bǎi zhe yīxiē qīlíngbāsuì de xiǎo wányìr.
On the table were a few odds and ends — bits and pieces of trinkets.

Tips

usage
七零八 doesn't stand alone — it's the first three syllables of fixed four-character expressions, almost always 七零八落 (qī líng bā luò, 'scattered all over') or 七零八 (qī líng bā suì, 'bits and pieces / odds and ends'). When you see 七零八 in text, look for the closing character.
memory
The numbers 'seven' and 'eight' are used together in many Chinese idioms to mean 'all over the place' — see also 乱七八糟 (luàn-qī-bā-zāo, 'all in a mess'). Treat … as a frame for chaos.

Stroke Order

líng