Huíshǒu wǎngshì, tā hòuhuǐ zìjǐ lùlùwúwéi de nàxiē nián.
Looking back, he regretted those years when he'd drifted along achieving nothing.
Tips
history
碌碌 is an ancient Chinese descriptor for mediocrity — 《史记·酷吏列传》 already uses '九卿碌碌奉其官' ('the nine ministers just went through the motions of their office'). The four-character form 碌碌无为 cements that sense of 'much busyness, no achievement.'
memory
碌 is the sound of a stone roller grinding away — lots of motion, nothing really produced. 碌碌 = the eternal rumble of effort without result.
