DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

七上八下

Mandarin · pinyin qī shàng bā xià

at sixes and sevens
perturbed state of mind
in a mess

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

七: qī · seven
上: shàng · top; superior, highest; go up, send up
八: bā · eight; all around, all sides
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–4–1–4 · qi1 shang4 ba1 xia4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

七上八下 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cat1 soeng5 baat3 haa5

Cantonese word readings for 七上八下. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to be nervous, anxious or perturbed; in an unsettled state of mind; to have butterflies in one's stomach
(rare) in a mess; to have a messy state of affairs
(Mainland China, politics) the unspoken rule that CCP officials aged less than 67 can remain in office and those aged over 68 will retire

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack