乌烟瘴气

烏煙瘴氣
wūyān-zhàngqì
idiom #24,130

Meanings

  1. 1 foul atmosphere
  2. 2 utter chaos and disorder
  3. 3 murky and corrupt environment

Examples

HSK 3
Tā yī lái, zhěnggè bàngōngshì dōu biàn de wūyān-zhàngqì.
Once he arrived, the whole office descended into chaos.
HSK 6
Zhège bùmén guǎnlǐ hùnluàn, nòng de wūyān-zhàngqì.
This department is so poorly managed that it's become utterly chaotic.

Tips

memory
乌烟 (black smoke) + 瘴气 (miasma / toxic air from swamps), an atmosphere of dark smoke and poisonous swamp gas. Use this idiom to describe any corrupt, chaotic, or toxic environment.

Stroke Order

yān
zhàng