unknown time; impossible date; never
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
unknown time in the unforeseeable future; date that will never come
informalUsed to express frustration that something is taking too long or will never happen. Often appears in the pattern '等到驴年马月' or with rhetorical questions like '哪年哪月'. Conveys a sense of hopelessness about timing.
Zhào照
nǐ你
zhè这
me么
mó磨
mó磨
cèng蹭
ceng蹭
，
lǘ驴
nián年
mǎ马
yuè月
yě也
gàn干
bù不
chéng成
。
At the rate you're dawdling, this will never get done even in a million years.
Yào要
děng等
dào到
lǘ驴
nián年
mǎ马
yuè月
cái才
néng能
lún轮
dào到
wǒ我
a啊
？
Do I have to wait forever for my turn?
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Zhè这
bǐ笔
qián钱
lǘ驴
nián年
mǎ马
yuè月
cái才
néng能
huán还
qīng清
。
It will take forever to pay off this debt.