乱麻

亂麻
luànmá
noun #18,904

Meanings

  1. 1 tangled hemp
  2. 2 a tangled mess
  3. 3 utter confusion

Characters

Literally 'tangled hemp' — hemp fibers that are hopelessly knotted.

Examples

Tā de xīnli luàn de xiàng yì tuán luànmá.
His mind was as confused as a tangled mess of hemp.
Kuàidāo zhǎn luànmá, wǒmen gǎnjǐn zuò juédìng ba.
Let's cut the Gordian knot and make a decision quickly.

Tips

usage
乱麻 is most often used figuratively to describe a confused, tangled situation. The idiom 乱麻 (a sharp knife cuts tangled hemp) means to take decisive action to resolve a messy situation — like 'cutting the Gordian knot'.

Stroke Order

luàn