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庸人自扰

Word · VerbTraditional庸人自擾

worry about imaginary troubles; make trouble for oneself

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

1 sense · 4 examples
1.

verb

to worry about imaginary troubles; to make trouble for oneself when there is no real problem; to fret over nothing

neutral

Originally from the New Book of Tang (《新唐书•陆象先传》): 'All is well under heaven, but mediocre people trouble themselves over it, creating vexation.' (天下本无事,庸人扰之为烦耳。) Used to criticize or pity someone who creates unnecessary anxiety or problems for themselves over non-existent issues.

Nǐ你
bié别
zài再
yōng庸
rén人
zì自
rǎo扰
le了
 ,
shì事
qing情
méi没
nà那
me么
zāo糟
 。

Stop worrying about imaginary troubles; the situation isn't that bad.

Tā他
zǒng总
shì是
xǐ喜
huān欢
yōng庸
rén人
zì自
rǎo扰
 ,
wèi为
yī一
xiē些
xiǎo小
shì事
dān担
xīn心
 。

He always likes to make trouble for himself, worrying about trivial matters.

Show 2 more examples
Nǐ你
zhè这
shì是
diǎn典
xíng型
de的
yōng庸
rén人
zì自
rǎo扰
 ,
méi没
shì事
zhǎo找
shì事
 。

This is a classic case of worrying about nothing; you're looking for trouble where there is none.

Tiān天
xià下
běn本
wú无
shì事
 ,
yōng庸
rén人
zì自
rǎo扰
zhī之
 。

All is well under heaven, but the mediocre person troubles himself over it.