废寝忘食
- Literal
- to give up sleep and forget to eat
- Figurative
- To throw yourself into something so completely that you skip sleep and meals — total dedication, for better or worse.
Where does 废寝忘食 come from?
No specific anecdote is on record: it is two parallel halves, 废寝 ("setting sleep aside") and 忘食 ("forgetting to eat"), of the kind classical Chinese already used for total dedication — the 《论语》 preserves a related one, 发愤忘食, "forgetting to eat out of sheer drive." It normally comes as praise for someone pouring themselves into study, research, or getting a project out the door, though in talk about health it shows up as a warning too.
How is 废寝忘食 used? Two examples
- 他为了赶论文，这个月几乎废寝忘食。
Rushing to finish his thesis, he's barely slept or eaten properly all month.
- 你别再这样废寝忘食了，身体要紧。
Stop skipping sleep and meals — your health comes first.
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