Chinese word

轮到

Pronunciation

Pinyinlún dào

Meaning

  • verbbe someone's turn

Example

现在轮到你说话了。xiàn zài lún dào nǐ shuō huà le

Now it's your turn to speak.

Illustration for 轮到 (be someone's turn)

More examples

现在轮到我了，我来回答。xiàn zài lún dào wǒ le wǒ lái huí dá

Now it's my turn to answer.

Core concept

A sequence advances from one participant to the next until a named person is reached for an action or a contribution.

Common phrases

  • 轮到你了lún dào nǐ le

    be your turn

  • 轮到我了lún dào wǒ le

    be my turn

  • 该轮到他gāi lún dào tā

    be his turn now

Similar words

该gāi: Show that a person is due to act or speak at a particular time.
到dào: Reach a person in sequence, making that person next to act.
轮流lún liú: Have people take turns doing the same activity in sequence.

Definition in Chinese

按照顺序，该轮到某人做事或发言的时候。àn zhào shùn xù gāi lún dào mǒu rén zuò shì huò fā yán de shí hòu

Word origin

The compound 轮到 (lúndào, "be someone's turn") joins 轮 (lún, "a round or turn") with 到 (dào, "reach"), so it presents a turn as reaching its next participant.

Usage tips

  • The person following 轮到 (lúndào, "be someone's turn") is the one expected to act, while the verb after that person states the task; this word order is useful in short everyday exchanges.

Other meanings

  • come around to someoneverb

Opposites

  • 轮不到lún bú dàonot get one's turnverb
  • 抢先qiǎng xiāncut aheadverb

Related words

Word lists with this word