Definition
杂七杂八 is a four-character idiom that literally strings together 'mixed' (杂) with the numbers seven and eight (七、八) — a common Chinese reduplication pattern — to mean 'all kinds of odds and ends jumbled together.' You can use it to describe a messy collection of miscellaneous items, scattered information, or mixed-up topics that lack organization. It often appears before 的 as a modifier (杂七杂八的东西) or as a predicate (东西杂七杂八的).
idiom
odds and endsmiscellaneous thingsjumbledall mixed together
Examples
- 杂七杂八，。Tā chōuti lǐ quán shì zá qī zá bā de dōngxi, gāi zhěnglǐ yíxià le.His drawer is full of odds and ends — he ought to tidy it up.
- 杂七杂八，。Zhèxiē zá qī zá bā de zīliào méi shénme yòng, kěyǐ rēng le.These miscellaneous documents are useless and can be thrown away.
- 杂七杂八。Bié bǎ zá qī zá bā de shì dōu tuī dào míngtiān zuò.Don't put off all the jumbled little tasks until tomorrow.
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