疲於奔命

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Chinese

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weary
in; at; to
in; at; to; from; by; than; out of; surname
 
to rush about; to be kept busy; to issue an emergency order
trad. (疲於奔命) 奔命
simp. (疲于奔命) 奔命

Etymology

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《左傳·成公七年》:

:「貪惏不辜使罷於奔命。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
:「贪惏不辜使罢于奔命。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4th century BCE
Wūchén zì Jìn wèi èrzǐ shū yuē: “Ěr yǐ chántè tānlán shìjūn, ér duō shā bùgū, yú bì shǐ ěr pí yú bēnmìng yǐ sǐ.” [Pinyin]
Wuchen sent a letter to the two from Jin, in which it was written: "You have been serving the monarch with your slanderous counsels, evil deeds, and rapacious greed. You have killed many innocent people. I swear I will make you die restless and exhausted."

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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疲於奔命

  1. to be tired and exhausted from constantly running around; to be tired to death with hustling and bustling