Chinese word

轮流

Pronunciation

Pinyinlún liú

Meaning

  • verbtake turns

Example

我们轮流做饭。wǒ men lún liú zuò fàn

We take turns cooking.

Illustration for 轮流 (take turns)

More examples

大家轮流发言。dà jiā lún liú fā yán

Everyone takes turns speaking.

Core concept

A shared action or responsibility moves through a sequence, as people act or tasks are handled one by one.

Common phrases

  • 轮流做饭lún liú zuò fàn

    take turns cooking

  • 轮流发言lún liú fā yán

    take turns speaking

  • 轮流值班lún liú zhí bān

    take turns being on duty

Similar words

交替jiāo tì: Take turns with two or more people while carrying out the same task or role.
轮换lún huàn: Change people or things between positions or roles in a regular order or cycle.
轮班lún bān: Take turns on duty or at work during scheduled time periods or shifts.
轮值lún zhí: Take responsibility for an assigned duty or role when its turn comes.

Definition in Chinese

多人或多项任务按照一定顺序依次互相替换，逐一完成相同的动作或承担相同的责任。duō rén huò duō xiàng rèn wù àn zhào yí dìng shùn xù yī cì hù xiāng tì huàn zhú yì wán chéng xiāng tóng de dòng zuò huò chéng dān xiāng tóng de zé rèn

Word origin

The compound 轮 (lún, "wheel; rotation") + 流 (liú, "flow") presents a role as moving onward like a wheel in motion.

Usage tips

  • 轮流 (lúnliú, "take turns") can involve several people or tasks, and it does not by itself say that each share lasts the same amount of time.

Other meanings

  • alternateverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word