Chinese word

接二连三

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiē èr lián sān

Meaning

  • idiomrepeatedly

Example

他最近接二连三迟到，老师很生气。tā zuì jìn jiē èr lián sān chí dào lǎo shī hěn shēng qì

He has been late several times in a row lately, and the teacher is very angry.

Illustration for 接二连三 (repeatedly)

More examples

公司最近接二连三出现质量问题，客户投诉不断。gōng sī zuì jìn jiē èr lián sān chū xiàn zhì liàng wèn tí kè hù tóu sù bú duàn

The company has recently had one quality problem after another, and customer complaints have not stopped.

Core concept

One event catches up with another so quickly that they form an unbroken chain.

Common phrases

  • 接二连三地发生jiē èr lián sān dì fā shēng

    happen repeatedly

  • 接二连三的错误jiē èr lián sān de cuò wù

    one error after another

  • 接二连三地来访jiē èr lián sān dì lái fǎng

    visit one after another

Similar words

接连不断jiē lián bú duàn: Continuing one after another without a break.
层出不穷céng chū bù qióng: New events or problems appearing one after another and never seeming to run out.
再三zài sān: Occurring repeatedly, with the same action or event happening several times.

Definition in Chinese

接连发生，连续多次发生，常指令人不快或麻烦的事情接二而来。jiē lián fā shēng lián xù duō cì fā shēng cháng zhǐ lìng rén bú kuài huò má fán de shì qíng jiē èr ér lái

Word origin

接二连三 (jiēèrliánsān, "one after another") joins 接 (jiē, "follow") + 二 (èr, "two") + 连 (lián, "continue") + 三 (sān, "three"), using two and three to emphasize an ongoing run.

Usage tips

  • English often treats repeated events as a neutral pattern, but this Chinese idiom commonly frames the pattern as a run of problems, complaints, or other unwelcome events.

Other meanings

  • one after anotheridiom
  • in quick successionidiom

Opposites

Related words

  • 接连jiē liánsuccessivelyadverb
  • 接连不断jiē lián bú duàncontinuouslyidiom

Word lists with this word