鸡飞狗跳

jī fēi gǒu tiào

total chaos; everything in uproar

Character by character

鸡jī
chickens

飞fēi
fly

狗gǒu
dogs

跳tiào
jump

孩子们一回来，家里就鸡飞狗跳的。

The minute the kids get home, the house is in uproar.

Tone: negative (criticism).

Lively and colloquial; common frame 闹得鸡飞狗跳.

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