疲于奔命
pí yú bēn mìng
run ragged; worn out by rushing from one task to the next
Character by character
疲pí
weary
weary
于yú
from
from
奔bēn
rushing
rushing
命mìng
orders
orders
Example
公司人手不够，几个员工每天疲于奔命，根本没时间想长远的事。
The company is short-staffed: a handful of employees are run ragged every day and have no time at all to think ahead.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
命 here is an order, not a life. In 《左传》 the Chu noble 巫臣, who had fled to Jin, swears to make his two enemies at the Chu court 罢（疲）于奔命, worn out answering call after call to arms. Today of people kept busy by too many demands: 每天疲于奔命, 让对手疲于奔命.
Learn this in Lesson 48 · HSK 5–6: 鸡娃与双减 (Education pressure and the tutoring ban)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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