The Chinese idiom 无所事事 (wú suǒ shì shì) is formed through a classical grammatical structure where the first part, 无所 ("to have nothing"), negates and governs the second part, which is the reduplicated verb 事事 ("to attend to matters/affairs"). Literally, it means "to have nothing to which to attend one's affairs". The reduplication of 事 emphasizes the act of engaging in tasks or business, so the entire phrase figuratively conveys a state of idleness, where one has no occupation or purposeful activity, simply "doing nothing".