摸鱼

摸魚

mōyú

verb

Meanings

1 to slack off at work
2 to goof off
3 to shirk duties

Characters

to touch; to grope

Literally 'grope for fish' — sneakily doing your own thing instead of working

Examples

上班摸鱼被领导发现了。

Shàngbān mōyú bèi lǐngdǎo fāxiàn le.

I got caught slacking off at work by my boss.

今天不想干活，摸摸鱼吧。

Jīntiān bù xiǎng gànhuó, mōmo yú ba.

I don't feel like working today; let me goof off a bit.

摸鱼的时候心里总不踏实。

Mōyú de shíhou xīnli zǒng bù tāshi.

I always feel uneasy when I'm slacking off.

Tips

culture

摸鱼 comes from the idiom 浑水摸鱼 (fish in troubled waters — take advantage of chaos). In modern usage, it simply means slacking off at work, usually by browsing your phone or doing personal stuff during work hours. It's widely used and not considered very negative.

memory

Picture an office worker reaching under their desk to 'catch fish' (browse their phone) while pretending to work.

Stroke Order

摸 mō

鱼 yú