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jī 鸡 fēi 飞 gǒu 狗 tiào 跳

鸡飞狗跳 jī fēi gǒu tiào

total chaos; turmoil

Literally: chickens fly dogs jump

Beginner 🐉 Animals & fables
🃏 Practise beginner chengyu

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Origin

Descriptive; no single source story. Attested in Ming and Qing fiction.

How to use it

Complement or predicate; negative or humorous. Often 闹得鸡飞狗跳.

Example sentences

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  1. 两个孩子在家里闹得鸡飞狗跳。
    Liǎng gè háizi zài jiā lǐ nào de jī fēi gǒu tiào.
    The two kids turned the house upside down.
    two (measure) child at home inside make-noise (particle) chickens fly dogs jump
  2. 早上大家都在找钥匙，家里鸡飞狗跳的。
    Zǎoshang dàjiā dōu zài zhǎo yàoshi, jiā lǐ jī fēi gǒu tiào de.
    In the morning everyone was hunting for the keys and the house was in chaos.
    morning everyone all (progressive) look-for key, home inside chickens fly dogs jump (particle)

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