混日子

hùnrìzi

verb #24,006

Meanings

1 to muddle through life
2 to idle
3 to kill time aimlessly
4 to go through the motions

Characters

to muddle; to mix; to drift along

suffix (nominalizer)

Examples

他整天混日子，什么正事都不做。

Tā zhěngtiān hùn rìzi, shénme zhèngshì dōu bù zuò.

He muddles through the days, not doing anything productive.

不要只是混日子，要有自己的目标。

Bùyào zhǐshì hùn rìzi, yào yǒu zìjǐ de mùbiāo.

Don't just drift through life — you need to have your own goals.

Tips

usage

混日子 carries a negative connotation, implying a lack of ambition or purpose. It can be self-deprecating ("I'm just killing time at this job") or critical of others. Compare with 过日子 (guò rìzi), which neutrally means "to get through the days / to live one's life".

Stroke Order

混 hùn

日 rì

子 zǐ