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坐立不安

zuò lì bù ān

restless; on pins and needles

Character by character

坐zuò
sit
立lì
stand
不bù
not
安ān
settled

Example

孩子这么晚还没回家,妈妈坐立不安。
The child still wasn’t home, and Mum couldn’t sit still.

Tone: neutral.

Usage and origin

Worry that shows in the body: you can neither sit nor stand.

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