忙碌

• Pinyin: máng lù
• Hanzi breakdown: 忙 = 忄 (heart) + 亡 (phonetic); 碌 = 石 (stone) + 录 (record, phonetic) — suggests laborious grinding work

Meaning

Busy; bustling; occupied with many tasks. Describes a sustained state of busyness and activity.

Used to describe a person who is consistently busy or a period of time filled with activity and tasks. More sustained and comprehensive in scope than simply 忙. Common in professional, everyday, and narrative contexts.

Examples

1. 年末是财务部门最忙碌的时期，核对账目、整理报表的工作堆积如山。 Year-end is the busiest time for the finance department, with account reconciliations and reports piled up like a mountain.
2. 尽管生活忙碌，他仍然坚持每周抽出时间陪伴父母，从未间断。 Even though life keeps him busy, he still makes time every week to be with his parents, without ever missing a week.
3. 城市的早晨总是忙碌而嘈杂，地铁站里人潮涌动，路上车水马龙。 Mornings in the city are always busy and noisy—crowds surge through subway stations and traffic streams endlessly on the roads.

Usage Guide

Context: work, everyday life, description

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 他最近工作很忙碌，几乎没有时间休息。(He has been very busy with work lately, with almost no time to rest.)
• 忙碌的生活固然充实，但也要注意劳逸结合。(A busy life is fulfilling, but you should still balance work and rest.)

Don't Say

• 把'忙碌'用来表示忙乱无序的状态 — 负面的混乱忙碌应用'忙乱'，'忙碌'偏中性或积极 (Don't use 忙碌 to imply disordered chaos — for chaotic busyness use 忙乱; 忙碌 is neutral to positive)

Origin & History

忙 (busy) + 碌 (toiling, busy). Both characters convey busyness and hard work; the compound intensifies the sense of being occupied with many things.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal