Chinese word

反复

Pronunciation

Pinyinfǎn fù

Meaning

  • adverbagain and again

Example

他反复看了那封信。tā fǎn fù kàn le nà fēng xìn

He read the letter again and again.

Illustration for 反复 (again and again)

More examples

考前他反复检查了行李，生怕忘东西。kǎo qián tā fǎn fù jiǎn chá le xíng lǐ shēng pà wàng dōng xī

Before the exam, he repeatedly checked his luggage, afraid he might forget something.

Core concept

Repeated return of an action or condition, viewed as a pattern rather than a single event.

Common phrases

  • 反复练习fǎn fù liàn xí

    practice repeatedly

  • 反复考虑fǎn fù kǎo lǜ

    think over repeatedly

  • 反复检查fǎn fù jiǎn chá

    check repeatedly

Similar words

又yòu: Shows that something happens again after it has already happened.
再次zài cì: Shows that something happens once again in a relatively formal way.
再三zài sān: Shows an action being done repeatedly, often several times with emphasis.

Definition in Chinese

用于表示某事反复出现或反复进行，既可指动作的多次发生，也可指情况或症状的反复，常作副词使用。yòng yú biǎo shì mǒu shì fǎn fù chū xiàn huò fǎn fù jìn xíng jì kě zhǐ dòng zuò de duō cì fā shēng yě kě zhǐ qíng kuàng huò zhèng zhuàng de fǎn fù cháng zuò fù cí shǐ yòng

Word origin

反 (fǎn, "back") + 复 (fù, "again") frames an event as coming back, which develops into the idea of repetition and recurrence.

Usage tips

  • A frequency word in English can describe many separate events, whereas this word usually keeps attention on the same action or condition recurring.

Other meanings

  • oftenadverb

Opposites

  • 很少hén shǎorarelyadverb

Word lists with this word