# 心猿意马

xīn yuán yì mǎ

Be restless and unable to focus

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** A monkey heart and a horse mind

**Traditional Chinese:** 心猿意馬

**Register:** Descriptive · conversational

[Perspective](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/perspective)

## When to use it

Describe wandering attention or unstable intentions.

Not a clinical description of attention difficulties.

## Understanding the expression

A lively monkey leaps from place to place, while a horse may run off in another direction. The images make thoughts seem hard to hold still. Modern speakers use the phrase when someone cannot settle into work, keeps imagining alternatives, or is distracted by excitement. It can be playful or critical. The phrase describes a moment or habit in ordinary language, rather than diagnosing a medical condition or fixed character flaw.

## Examples

假期前，我上课心猿意马。

### Traditional Chinese

假期前，我上課心猿意馬。

jià qī qián ， wǒ shàng kè xīn yuán yì mǎ 。

Before the holiday, my attention wanders in class.

她心猿意马，读不进书。

### Traditional Chinese

她心猿意馬，讀不進書。

tā xīn yuán yì mǎ ， dú bú jìn shū 。

She is too restless to concentrate on reading.

手机提示让他心猿意马。

### Traditional Chinese

手機提示讓他心猿意馬。

shǒu jī tí shì ràng tā xīn yuán yì mǎ 。

Phone alerts keep distracting him.

他收起杂志，免得心猿意马。

### Traditional Chinese

他收起雜誌，免得心猿意馬。

tā shōu qǐ zá zhì ， miǎn de xīn yuán yì mǎ 。

He puts the magazine away to avoid distraction.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E5%BF%83%E7%8C%BF%E6%84%8F%E9%A6%AC)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=133&webMd=1&la=0)

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