一盘散沙
yī pán sǎn shā
a heap of loose sand; disunited, without cohesion
Character by character
一yī
one
one
盘pán
tray
tray
散sǎn
loose
loose
沙shā
sand
sand
Example
队员们各踢各的，整支球队像一盘散沙。
The players each did their own thing, and the team was like a heap of loose sand.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
Said of a group, team or country with no unity or organisation: 像一盘散沙, 一盘散沙似的. In his 1924 lectures Sun Yat-sen (孙中山) lamented that foreigners called the Chinese loose sand (一片散沙), loyal to family and clan but not to the nation, and the image has stood for disunity ever since.
Learn this in Lesson 149 · HSK 7–9: 中国足球为什么难 (Why Chinese football struggles)
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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