Chinese word

此起彼伏

Pronunciation

Pinyincǐ qǐ bǐ fú

Meaning

  • idiomcome one after another

Example

演唱会里，掌声此起彼伏。yǎn chàng huì lǐ zhǎng shēng cí qí bǐ fú

At the concert, bursts of applause came one after another.

Illustration for 此起彼伏 (come one after another)

More examples

会议上，意见此起彼伏，难以达成一致。huì yì shàng yì jiàn cí qí bǐ fú nán yǐ dá chéng yí zhì

At the meeting, opinions came one after another, so it was hard to reach agreement.

Core concept

Activity rises and falls at different points in turn, like waves moving through a crowd.

Common phrases

  • 掌声此起彼伏zhǎng shēng cí qí bǐ fú

    bursts of applause came one after another

  • 笑声此起彼伏xiào shēng cí qí bǐ fú

    bursts of laughter came one after another

  • 此起彼伏的波浪cí qí bǐ fú de bō làng

    waves rising and falling in succession

Similar words

此伏彼起cǐ fú bí qǐ: Activity or voices rise in one place as they die down elsewhere, taking turns across a scene.
起伏不定qǐ fú bú dìng: A situation or set of circumstances keeps shifting up and down without settling.
起起伏伏qí qǐ fú fú: Circumstances or moods repeatedly swing between higher and lower states.

Definition in Chinese

接连发生，常用来形容声音或事态一个接着一个交替出现。jiē lián fā shēng cháng yòng lái xíng róng shēng yīn huò shì tài yí gè jiē zhe yí gè jiāo tì chū xiàn

Word origin

此起彼伏 (cǐqǐbǐfú, "rise here and sink there") sets 此 (cǐ, "this") against 彼 (bǐ, "that"), while 起 (qǐ, "rise") and 伏 (fú, "sink") show the alternating movement.

Usage tips

  • Use it for applause, cheers, or public reactions that swell from different parts of a scene, not for one person repeating the same action.

Other meanings

  • come in wavesidiom

Opposites

Word lists with this word