马马虎虎 So-so
Explanation
形容做事不认真，不仔细，或指情况一般，凑合。
Describes someone who is careless and inattentive, or a situation that is average or just barely acceptable.
Origin Story
小明是个马马虎虎的孩子，写作业总是匆匆忙忙，从不仔细检查。有一次，老师布置了一篇作文，题目是《我的梦想》。小明心想：写作文太麻烦了，随便写写得了。于是，他拿起笔，龙飞凤舞地写了起来，一会儿就完成了。可是，他连标点符号都没检查，就交上去了。老师批改完后，发现小明的作文错别字很多，语句不通顺，内容也空洞乏味。老师无奈地叹了口气，在作文上写了“马马虎虎”三个字。小明看到老师的评语，羞愧地低下了头。他终于明白了，马马虎虎做事情的后果是很严重的。从此以后，小明改掉了马马虎虎的坏习惯，认真对待每一件事情。他开始认真地学习，仔细地完成作业，并认真地检查自己的工作，他做事的态度有了很大的改变，在学校里的表现也越来越好。
Xiaoming was a careless child. He always rushed through his homework without carefully checking it. Once, his teacher assigned an essay with the title "My Dream." Xiaoming thought: "Writing an essay is too much trouble, I'll just write something quickly." So, he picked up his pen and wrote quickly, finishing it in a short time. However, he didn't even check the punctuation marks before submitting it. After the teacher graded it, she found that Xiaoming's essay had many typos, the sentences were not smooth, and the content was bland and boring. The teacher sighed helplessly and wrote "so-so" on the essay. Xiaoming, seeing the teacher's comments, hung his head in shame. He finally understood that the consequences of being careless were serious. From then on, Xiaoming changed his careless habits and took every task seriously. He started studying diligently, completing his homework carefully, and diligently checking his work. His work attitude greatly improved, and his performance at school got better and better.
Usage
用作谓语、定语、状语；形容做事不认真，或指情况一般。
Used as predicate, attributive, or adverbial; describes careless work or an average situation.
Examples
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他工作马马虎虎，经常出错。
tā gōngzuò mǎmǎhǔhǔ, jīngcháng chūcuò
He works carelessly and often makes mistakes.
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这次考试，我马马虎虎地应付过去了。
zhè cì kǎoshì, wǒ mǎmǎhǔhǔ de yìngfù guòqù le
I passed the exam carelessly.
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他的字写得马马虎虎，还可以接受。
tā de zì xiě de mǎmǎhǔhǔ, hái kěyǐ jiēshòu
His handwriting is acceptable, though not perfect.