Definition
散兵游勇 literally means 'scattered soldiers and wandering troops'. Beyond its military origin, it's used figuratively to describe individuals or groups who are not part of an organized collective — stragglers, freelancers, or unaffiliated people operating independently. The tone is often mildly negative, implying a lack of discipline or coordination.
f.e.
(literally) straggling troopsscattered soldiers(figuratively) people not belonging to an organized groupindependent operatorsstragglers
Examples
- 散兵游勇，。Zhèxiē sǎn bīng yóu yǒng yuánlái dōu shì tuìwǔ jūnrén, xiànzài sìchù piāobó.These scattered troops were all former soldiers, now drifting around.
- 散兵游勇。Gōngsī lǐ de yìxiē sǎn bīng yóu yǒng zǒng shì gēn bú shàng xiàngmù jiézòu.Some of the stragglers in the company always can't keep up with the project pace.
- 散兵游勇，。Zhège shèqū yóu gèzhǒng sǎn bīng yóu yǒng zǔchéng, quēfá tǒngyī de guǎnlǐ.This community is made up of all sorts of scattered elements, lacking unified management.
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