I have been learning Chinese for 4 years now and will be taking the HSK 5 soon. Aside from just knowing Chinese, something I found that always impresses my Chinese friends and coworkers is knowing new internet slang and colloquial words. Once I said the word "心塞 (xīnsāi) crushed" to my coworkers and one told me she was "感动 (gǎndòng) moved" that my Chinese was so developed. I told her I just read online blogs like this one to learn fun, new words!

You are probably already aware of the phrase "a hot mess," which is a person who is spectacularly disordered. In Chinese there is a similar phrase that means something along the same lines, and carries the added uniqueness of making what you say sound more interesting: 一锅粥 (yīguōzhōu).

一锅粥 (yīguōzhōu): literally means "a pot of porridge"

Nowadays, this is a common saying that means "a complete mess" or refers to a situation that has become chaotic, or in other words, a hot mess. So, how did the meaning of this word evolve? Well, Chinese people love metaphors—one of the reasons the language is so beautiful—and it is common in Chinese to use material objects to describe an abstract idea, such as calling something chaotic a pot of porridge. For example, if there is a ridiculous amount of people at the bus stop and everyone is packed together in a chaotic fashion where you can't make sense of what is happening, you can call it 一锅粥 (yīguōzhōu). The way that cooked porridge looks, especially 八宝粥 (bābǎozhōu) mixed porridge or "eight-treasures congee," is a complete mess with random items mixed together. So, by calling something a pot of porridge instead of simply saying "it's chaotic" it brings a clearer, more interesting image to one's mind.

Usage:

Place word + 乱成了一锅粥 (luàn chéng le yīguōzhōu);
乱成 (luàn chéng) chaotically becomes；乱 (luàn) can be switched out with some other terms such as 吵 (chǎo) argue/noisy;
了 (le) sentence particle that denotes change.

Click "Read more" to learn the examples of "一锅粥 (yīguōzhōu)" in a sentence.

Quiz:

     A. See the film in 3D
     B. Get the best seat
     C. Save money on movie tickets
     D. Get free food
     See Answer