病急乱投医

病急亂投醫

bìngjíluàntóuyī

idiom

Meanings

1 to turn to any doctor one can find when desperately ill
2 to try anything in a crisis; to clutch at straws

Characters

randomly; chaotically

to turn to; throw oneself toward

Examples

HSK 4

公司快倒闭了，老板病急乱投医。

Gōngsī kuài dǎobì le, lǎobǎn bìngjíluàntóuyī.

With the company on the brink, the boss is grasping at any straw he can find.

HSK 5

遇到问题要冷静分析，别病急乱投医。

Yùdào wèntí yào lěngjìng fēnxī, bié bìngjíluàntóuyī.

When a problem hits, analyze it calmly - don't just throw everything at the wall.

HSK 6

考试前临时抱佛脚，是典型的病急乱投医。

Kǎoshì qián línshí-bàofójiǎo, shì diǎnxíng de bìngjíluàntóuyī.

Cramming the night before an exam is a classic case of panicking and trying anything.

Tips

history

From 红楼梦 Chapter 57, where Baoyu quotes 病急乱投医 as a ready-made saying, showing it was already idiomatic in Qing-era speech.

memory

Literal: 'illness urgent, randomly seek doctors.' The image is someone in a panic trying quack after quack because the disease is scary. Extends perfectly to any panic-driven, unfiltered search for solutions.

Stroke Order

病 bìng

急 jí

乱 luàn

投 tóu

医 yī