在家闲不住 -meaning?

[Scoobyqueen]

What does the following expression mean?

在家闲不住

Does it mean you should be at home being busy?

Cheers in advance.

[roddy]

Dictionary!

If you've already looked something up and still don't understand, please say so when you post and let us know what the dictionary said. Otherwise people like me will assume you are lazy and didn't bother

[Scoobyqueen]

Thank you for your response.

I always look things up in the dictionary (dict.cn) before I post questions in the vocab forum. I normally state so but on this occasion I obviously failed to include that point.

[roddy]

To be honest if you're going to rely on free dictionaries you need to be using more than one, plus trying to figure things out from context in web searches. Given that Chinese seems to be important for your work I'm a bit surprised you haven't invested in a decent dictionary.

[Gemini0603]

for example,a 60 years old ppl retired,and stay at home allll the day,he must try to do something he think it's intersting to spend the time,or he would feel bored....now,he is called 在家闲不住,not really make himself very busy.

[tiny_wang]

mean you have nothing to do in home and feel dull...empty...lonely and so on...

for example if u have no work no job only can stay at home you can complain to others like this:哎，在家闲不住啊。郁闷。

[bootrom]

It depends on the contex. tiny_wang told one of the meanings. Another meaning: one man can't bear the boring the moment he is at home that he tries by every means to find something to do.

[Hanlink]

It is a funny phrase since 闲 is being used as a verb here. The force of the phrase is "[You, I, He/She etc.] are at home, but [we] can't be doing nothing", i.e. "...gotta find something to do"; presumably this comes from having too much leisure time on your hands (the 闲 bit) and it is not being properly used (the 不住 bit?).

[Hanlink]

Perhaps a closer translation to my earlier attempt would be to say "can't stand/take [all this] spare time", i.e. one can't take all this leisure time at home (and therefore one needs to find something useful/meaningful to do).

[tiny_wang]

ye...

it's depend the contex,haha...i find it's interesting...the sentence have two means that expressd the meaning opposite

one meaning is you have nothing to do and u want to do somthing to enrich your life

the other meaning is you ...has been doing things in home...walking to here and there in room,clear room...and so on...

sometimes,we also describe a kid that seem as "hyperactivity" with the word"闲不住"...

[Scoobyqueen]

Thank you for the contributions. I felt the dictionary definition did not adecuately cover the scenarios some of you have deescribed here. The context I saw it in was something about a girl going out spending lots of money and her mother saying 在家闲不住

I was not sure if this meant she should stay in and make herself busy doing housework instead or if it was the meaning that Hanlink suggests that she cant sit still.

Cheers again for the illuminations.

[hidden12345]

are you people that retarded? 闲不住 just means "restless"

but yes..it does sort of have that refusal or unwillingness to stay idle connotation that some people mentioned already.

[Shadowdh]

ooh bit harsh there Hidden?? play nice...

[tiny_wang]

well,if is in this context,the meaning is what Hanlink say(needs to find something useful or meaningful to do).

and pls note that the "meaningful" "uesful" is not for everyone...

i.e the gril go out and spend lots of money for her own pleasure

and may be becaues she broken up with her BF just now and feel pain and must go out to do sth to forget the boy...

[skylee]

are you people that retarded?

People asking questions / having different views = retarded?

[DavidLucy]

It means that the women are always busy doing housework while stay at home.