慌慌张张

慌慌張張
huānghuāngzhāngzhāng
idiom #41,176

Meanings

  1. 1 in a flustered rush
  2. 2 panicky and disorganized
  3. 3 all in a fluster

Examples

Tā huānghuāngzhāngzhāng de pǎo chūmén, lián yàoshi dōu wàng le ná.
He rushed out the door in a fluster, forgetting even his keys.
Bié huānghuāngzhāngzhāng de, xiān shēnhūxī, mànmàn shuō.
Don't panic — take a deep breath and speak slowly.
Tā huānghuāngzhāngzhāng de bǎ wénjiàn sāi jìn bāo lǐ, gǎnwǎng huìyìshì.
She frantically stuffed the documents into her bag and hurried to the meeting room.

Tips

history
Recorded in Feng Menglong's 《明言》 (late Ming): a figure walks 慌慌张张 toward a garden gate, dressed neatly but moving in a fluster. The reduplicated form was already idiomatic by the Ming.
grammar
AABB reduplication intensifies the panic. Usually adverbial with (de): 慌慌张张 + verb. Can also stand alone as a predicate: 慌慌张张.

Stroke Order

huāng
zhāng