Definition
东倒西歪 is a four-character idiom (成语) that literally means 'east falls, west tilts' and describes things or people that are unsteady, toppling over, or in disarray. You can use it for drunken or exhausted people staggering around, or for dilapidated buildings that are leaning precariously. The standard pronunciation is dōng dǎo xī wāi — the input lists only the first two syllables, so the full pinyin is corrected here.
f.e.
(of a person) staggeringtotteringunsteady on one's feet(of objects) leaningdilapidatedfalling apart
Examples
- ，东倒西歪。Tā hē zuì le, zǒulù dōng dǎo de.He was drunk and walked all wobbly.
- 东倒西歪，。Nà jiān lǎo fángzi yǐjīng dōng dǎo, kuài yào tā le.That old house is already dilapidated and about to collapse.
- ，，东倒西歪。Lèi le yì tiān, wǒ zhàn dōu zhàn bù wěn, shēnzi dōng dǎo de.After a long day, I could barely stand — my body was swaying all over the place.
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