extremely busy; no time to spare
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
to be swamped with work; to have no time to spare; to be extremely busy
formalFormal written idiom originating from classical Chinese (《汉书》). Literally means 'days are insufficient to supply (the demands)'. Used to describe being overwhelmed by numerous affairs.
Tā他
shēn身
jiān兼
shù数
zhí职
，
rì日
bù不
xiá暇
jǐ给
，
lián连
zhōu周
mò末
dōu都
zài在
jiā加
bān班
。
He holds several positions at once and is swamped with work, even working overtime on weekends.
Gōng公
sī司
gāng刚
shàng上
shì市
，
guǎn管
lǐ理
céng层
rì日
bù不
xiá暇
jǐ给
，
měi每
tiān天
dōu都
yào要
chǔ处
lǐ理
dà大
liàng量
shì事
wù务
。
The company just went public, and the management is extremely busy, having to handle massive amounts of affairs every day.
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Jìn近
rì日
lái来
fǎng访
kè客
tài太
duō多
，
shǐ使
tā他
rì日
bù不
xiá暇
jǐ给
。
Recently there have been too many visitors, leaving him no time to spare.