无所用心

無所用心

wúsuǒyòngxīn

idiom

Meanings

1 to apply one's mind to nothing
2 to idle one's time away
3 to be idle and indifferent

Characters

Examples

整天无所用心,什么也学不会。

Zhěng tiān wúsuǒyòngxīn, shénme yě xué bù huì.

Idling around all day, you'll never learn anything.

退休后他绝不愿无所用心。

Tuìxiū hòu tā jué bù yuàn wúsuǒyòngxīn.

After retirement, he's determined not to let his mind go idle.

Tips

history

From 《论语·阳货》: 子曰:'饱食终日,无所用心,难矣哉!' ('Confucius said: To eat one's fill all day with one's mind on nothing — how hard a case!'). The idiom usually surfaces alongside 饱食终日 (bǎo shí zhōng rì, 'eat one's fill all day') as a paired criticism of aimless living.

Stroke Order

无 wú

所 suǒ

用 yòng

心 xīn