晕头转向
yūn tóu zhuàn xiàng
dizzy and disoriented; not knowing which way is up
Character by character
晕yūn
dizzy
dizzy
头tóu
head
head
转zhuàn
turn
turn
向xiàng
direction
direction
Example
一下飞机就开了三个会，我忙得晕头转向。
Three meetings straight off the plane: I was so busy I didn’t know which way was up.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
转向 here is zhuàn xiàng, “to lose one’s bearings”, not zhuǎn xiàng, “to change direction”. Common frames: 忙得晕头转向, 被…弄得晕头转向, 绕得晕头转向.
Learn this in Lesson 21 · HSK 5: 山城重庆 (Chongqing, the mountain city)
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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