每天成语
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百无聊赖

*The explanations on this page are generated by AI. Please note that they may contain inaccurate information.

1. Basic Information

  • Pinyin: bǎi wú liáo lài
  • English Translation: Utterly listless (bored to death)
  • Idiom Composition: 「百」（A hundred; used here to mean 'all' or 'completely' to emphasize the intensity.）＋「无」（Without; to lack.）＋「聊赖」（Spiritual support or something to rely on for interest and comfort.）
  • Meaning: A state of extreme boredom or listlessness where one lacks any spiritual support or interest in anything. It describes a psychological void or a sense of emptiness rather than just having free time.

2. Detailed Meaning and Nuances

「百无聊赖」 contains the following nuances:

  • Psychological Emptiness: The focus is on the internal state of 'nothing being interesting' or 'feeling unfulfilled' rather than just the physical state of having no tasks to perform.
  • The Emphasis of 'Hundred' (百): The character 百 (bǎi) acts as an intensifier, suggesting that in every possible way, there is nothing to rely on for mental stimulation, highlighting a total lack of interest.

3. Usage

「百无聊赖」 is mainly used in the following contexts:

  • Killing time: Used to describe someone who is bored while waiting or during a holiday, aimlessly trying to pass the time.
    • Example:「他在候机室里百无聊赖地翻看着杂志。」
      （He was bored to death in the waiting room, aimlessly flipping through magazines.)
  • Existential ennui or lethargy: Used in more serious contexts to describe a loss of purpose or motivation due to unemployment, heartbreak, or a monotonous life.
    • Example:「失业后的那段日子，他整天百无聊赖，不知道该干什么。」
      （During those days after losing his job, he felt utterly listless all day, not knowing what to do with himself.)
  • Literary description: Commonly used in literature to emphasize a character's loneliness or the oppressive atmosphere of their environment.
    • Example:「窗外下着雨，她独自一人坐在屋里，感到一种百无聊赖的寂寞。」
      （It was raining outside, and sitting alone in the room, she felt an overwhelming sense of boredom and loneliness.)

Additional Examples:

  1. 暑假里没有朋友陪伴，他觉得百无聊赖。
    （Without friends to keep him company during summer break, he felt bored to death.）
  2. 在这个没有网络的小村庄，晚上真是百无聊赖。
    （In this small village without internet, the evenings are truly utterly listless.）
  3. 为了打发百无聊赖的时光，他开始学习画画。
    （To kill the monotonous time, he started learning how to paint.）
  4. 会议开得太久，大家都显得有些百无聊赖。
    （The meeting dragged on so long that everyone seemed to be bored out of their minds.）
  5. 这种百无聊赖的生活，我一天也受不了。
    （I couldn't stand even a single day of such a listless and empty life.）

4. Cultural Background and Notes

  • Origin: This idiom is said to originate from the Poem of Indignation (悲愤诗) by the late Han Dynasty poet Cai Yan (蔡琰), also known as Cai Wenji (蔡文姬). She wrote about the despair of surviving war and displacement, questioning what there was to 'rely on' (聊赖) even if one remained alive.
  • Modern Nuance: While it originally carried a heavy sense of existential despair, in modern Chinese it is frequently used for everyday boredom, such as being 'bored to tears' because one's phone battery died.
  • Literary Significance: Modern writers like Lu Xun (鲁迅) often used this idiom to depict the spiritual stagnation and malaise felt by intellectuals in a changing society.

5. Similar and Opposite Idioms

6. Summary

百无聊赖 (bǎi wú liáo lài) describes a state that goes beyond mere 'boredom.' It captures a psychological condition where one feels listless and finds no interest or meaning in their surroundings. It can range from the restlessness of waiting for a flight to a deeper existential ennui. While the similar idiom 无所事事 (wú suǒ shì shì) focuses on the lack of physical action, 百无聊赖 (bǎi wú liáo lài) emphasizes the internal feeling of 'nothingness' and spiritual emptiness.

Featured in the Chuken exam (Japan's Chinese test)Pre-Level 1

Idiom Essay

bǎi wú liáo lài
百无聊赖
Utter Boredom and Spiritual Emptiness
nǐ你yǒu méi yǒu有没有guò过zhè yàng这样de的shí kè时刻？

Have you ever had a moment like this?

míng míng明明zhōng yú终于yǒu有le了kòng xián空闲shí jiān时间，bù yòng不用gōng zuò工作，yě也bù yòng不用xué xí学习，kě yǐ可以zuò做rèn hé任何xiǎng想zuò做de的shì事。

You finally have free time, no work, no studying, and you can do whatever you want.

kě shì可是，nǐ你què却yì diǎn一点yě也kāi xīn开心bù不qǐ lái起来。

However, you don't feel happy at all.

nǐ你ná qǐ拿起shǒu jī手机shuā刷le了yī huì er一会儿，jué de觉得méi yì si没意思，guān diào关掉le了；xiǎng想zhǎo找bù部diàn yǐng电影kàn看，fān翻le了bàn tiān半天mù lù目录，jué de觉得nǎ哪yī bù一部dōu都bù xiǎng不想kàn看；xiǎng想gěi给péng yǒu朋友fā发gè个xìn xī信息，dǎ hǎo打好le了zì字，yòu又shān diào删掉le了。

You pick up your phone and scroll for a while, find it boring, and turn it off; you want to find a movie to watch, but after browsing the catalog for a long time, you don't feel like watching any of them; you want to send a message to a friend, but after typing the words, you delete them again.

nǐ你bìng并bú shì不是shēn tǐ身体lèi累，ér shì而是xīn lǐ心里jué de觉得kōng kōng空空de的。

It's not that your body is tired, but that your heart feels empty.

zhōu wéi周围de的shì jiè世界hǎo xiàng好像tū rán突然hé和nǐ你shī qù失去le了lián xì联系，zuò做shén me什么dōu都tí提bù不qǐ jìn起劲。

The world around you seems to have suddenly lost contact with you, and you can't get excited about doing anything.

zhōng wén中文lǐ里，yǒu有yí gè一个fēi cháng非常zhǔn què准确de的chéng yǔ成语，zhuān mén专门yòng lái用来xíng róng形容zhè zhǒng这种xīn lǐ心理zhuàng tài状态，jiào叫“bǎi wú liáo lài百无聊赖”。

In Chinese, there is a very accurate idiom specifically used to describe this psychological state, called 百无聊赖.

zhè ge这个cí词tīng qǐ lái听起来jiù就dài带zhe着yī zhǒng一种shēn shēn深深de的tàn xī叹息gǎn感。

This word sounds like it carries a deep sigh.

“bǎi百”，shì是suǒ yǒu所有、yī qiè一切；“wú无”，shì是méi yǒu没有。

百 means all or everything; 无 means none or without.

zuì最guān jiàn关键de的shì是hòu miàn后面zhè这liǎng gè两个zì字——“liáo lài聊赖”。

The most critical part is the last two characters: 聊赖.

zhè这shì是yí gè一个bǐ jiào比较gǔ lǎo古老de的shuō fǎ说法，yì si意思shì是“jīng shén精神shàng上de的yī tuō依托”huò zhě或者“yī kào依靠”。

This is a relatively ancient expression meaning spiritual support or something to rely on.

lián连qǐ lái起来kàn看，“bǎi wú liáo lài百无聊赖”de的yì si意思jiù shì就是：kàn看biàn遍le了zhōu wéi周围de的yī qiè一切，jìng rán竟然zhǎo bú dào找不到yī yàng一样dōng xī东西，néng能ràng让zì jǐ自己de的jīng shén精神tíng kào停靠xià lái下来。

Taken together, 百无聊赖 means: looking at everything around you and failing to find a single thing that can give your spirit a place to rest.

tā它hé和wǒ men我们píng cháng平常shuō说de的“wú liáo无聊”bù不tài太yī yàng一样。

It is not quite the same as the boredom we usually talk about.

“wú liáo无聊”，tōng cháng通常shì是yīn wèi因为wài jiè外界de的shì qíng事情méi yì si没意思——bǐ rú比如pái duì排队tài太zhǎng长、diàn yǐng电影bù不hǎo kàn好看。

Boredom is usually because external things are uninteresting—like a line being too long or a movie being bad.

dàn但“bǎi wú liáo lài百无聊赖”shì是yīn wèi因为wǒ men我们zì jǐ自己de的nèi xīn内心shī qù失去le了fāng xiàng方向。

But 百无聊赖 is because our own hearts have lost their direction.

tā它bú shì不是méi shì没事zuò做，ér shì而是“bù zhī dào不知道wèi shén me为什么yào要zuò做”。

It's not about having nothing to do, but rather not knowing why to do anything.

lǔ xùn鲁迅xiān shēng先生céng jīng曾经zhè yàng这样miáo xiě描写guò过zhè zhǒng这种gǎn jué感觉：zài在bǎi wú liáo lài百无聊赖zhōng中，suí shǒu随手zhuā抓guò过yī běn一本shū书lái来，kē xué科学yě hǎo也好，wén xué文学yě hǎo也好，héng shù横竖shén me什么dōu都yī yàng一样。

Mr. Lu Xun once described this feeling like this: in a state of 百无聊赖, one might casually grab a book, whether it be science or literature, as it is all the same anyway.

nǐ你kàn看，dāng当yí gè一个rén人bǎi wú liáo lài百无聊赖de的shí hòu时候，tā他qí shí其实shì是zài在pīn mìng拼命xún zhǎo寻找yì diǎn一点dōng xī东西lái来tián bǔ填补kòng bái空白，dàn但wǎng wǎng往往hěn很nán难zhǎo dào找到。

You see, when a person is 百无聊赖, they are actually desperately looking for something to fill the void, but it is often hard to find.

zhè zhǒng这种qíng kuàng情况，cháng cháng常常chū xiàn出现zài在wǒ men我们tū rán突然cóng从máng lù忙碌zhōng中tíng xià lái停下来de的shí hòu时候，huò zhě或者shì是yí gè rén一个人dú chǔ独处tài太jiǔ久de的shí hòu时候。

This situation often occurs when we suddenly stop from a busy schedule, or when we have been alone for too long.

bù guò不过，zhè zhǒng这种gǎn jué感觉suī rán虽然bù hǎo shòu不好受，dàn但yě也bù bì不必tài太hài pà害怕。

However, although this feeling is unpleasant, there is no need to be too afraid.

tā它qí shí其实shì是yí gè一个xìn hào信号。

It is actually a signal.

tā它zài在tí xǐng提醒wǒ men我们，xiàn zài现在de的zhè zhǒng这种shēng huó生活zhuàng tài状态，kě néng可能quē shǎo缺少le了yī xiē一些ràng让nǐ你zhēn zhèng真正xīn dòng心动、huò zhě或者jué de觉得yǒu有yì yì意义de的dōng xī东西。

It is reminding us that our current state of life might be lacking something that truly moves us or feels meaningful.

xià cì下次dāng当nǐ你gǎn dào感到“bǎi wú liáo lài百无聊赖”de的shí hòu时候，bú yào不要jí zhe急着zé guài责怪zì jǐ自己làng fèi浪费shí jiān时间。

Next time you feel 百无聊赖, don't be in a hurry to blame yourself for wasting time.

yě xǔ也许，zhè这zhǐ shì只是nǐ你de的nèi xīn内心zài在àn按xià下zàn tíng jiàn暂停键，tā它zài在ān jìng安静dì地děng dài等待xià yí gè下一个ràng让nǐ你chóng xīn重新zhǎo huí找回rè qíng热情de的mù biāo目标chū xiàn出现。

Perhaps this is just your heart pressing the pause button, quietly waiting for the next goal that will help you regain your passion.

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