多事之秋

duōshìzhīqiū

idiom #56,860

Meanings

1 an eventful autumn
2 a troubled period; a time of upheaval

Characters

affair; incident

(classical possessive)

autumn; (fig.) period, time

Examples

HSK 1

今年对公司来说是多事之秋。

Jīnnián duì gōngsī láishuō shì duōshìzhīqiū.

This year has been a troubled time for the company.

HSK 5

在这个多事之秋，更要保持冷静。

Zài zhège duōshìzhīqiū, gèng yào bǎochí lěngjìng.

In such an eventful, turbulent period, it's all the more important to stay calm.

HSK 7-9

国家正处于多事之秋，人心惶惶。

Guójiā zhèng chǔyú duōshìzhīqiū, rénxīnhuánghuáng.

The country is in a troubled period, and people are anxious.

Tips

history

From Sun Guangxian's Song-dynasty miscellany 《北梦琐言》: '多事之秋，灭迹匿端' - 'in troubled times, erase your tracks and hide your ends.' Here 秋 means 'season' in the broad sense of 'period,' not literally autumn.

mistakes

Don't read 秋 as the season autumn. 多事之秋 = 多事之时 - the word 秋 is classical shorthand for 'a period / time.' So 多事之秋 applies any time of year.

Stroke Order

多 duō

事 shì

之 zhī

秋 qiū