一塌糊涂 yìtāhútú muddled and completely collapsing (idiom)
muddled and completely collapsing (idiom); in an awful condition; complete shambles; a total mess
How to remember 一塌糊涂: 一 one + 塌 to collapse + 糊 muddled + 涂 to smear = muddled and completely collapsing (idiom).
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How it is used
- 'A complete mess' - total shambles, everything gone wrong - 房间乱得一塌糊涂 (fángjiān luàn de yìtāhútú) the room is an utter mess; 考得一塌糊涂 (kǎo de yìtāhútú) bombed the exam completely.
- Colloquial and emphatic; frequently follows 得 as a complement to intensify how bad something is. Can even intensify positively in slang ('乱得/好得一塌糊涂'), but the default flavor is 'disastrously'.
- Spoken register.