Chinese word

间歇性

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiàn xiē xìng

Meaning

  • nounintermittent

Example

网络连接有间歇性的问题。wǎng luò lián jiē yǒu jiàn xiē xìng de wèn tí

The network connection has intermittent problems.

Illustration for 间歇性 (intermittent)

More examples

家里的电有间歇性停电，晚上会突然断电几分钟。jiā lǐ de diàn yǒu jiàn xiē xìng tíng diàn wǎn shàng huì tū rán duàn diàn jǐ fēn zhōng

The power at home goes out intermittently, suddenly cutting out for a few minutes at night.

Core concept

A process that pauses, resumes, and pauses again, with gaps between its periods of activity.

Common phrases

  • 间歇性故障jiàn xiē xìng gù zhàng

    intermittent fault

  • 间歇性停电jiàn xiē xìng tíng diàn

    intermittent power outage

  • 间歇性疼痛jiàn xiē xìng téng tòng

    intermittent pain

Similar words

时断时续shí duàn shí xù: Repeatedly stopping and resuming, so that something continues in separate periods.
时有时无shí yǒu shí wú: A changing state in which something exists at some times but not at others.

Definition in Chinese

指某种活动或现象不连续地发生，中间有间隔或中断的状态或特征。zhǐ móu zhǒng huó dòng huò xiàn xiàng bù lián xù dì fā shēng zhōng jiān yǒu jiàn gé huò zhōng duàn de zhuàng tài huò tè zhēng

Word origin

间歇性 (jiànxiēxìng, "intermittency") combines 间 (jiàn, "interval"), 歇 (xiē, "to rest"), and 性 (xìng, "quality"), so it names the quality of stopping at intervals.

Usage tips

  • This term fits formal descriptions of health, machines, and connections, while casual speech usually favors a simpler time expression.

Other meanings

  • intermittencynoun

Opposites

  • 连续性lián xù xìngcontinuitynoun
  • 持续性chí xù xìngpersistencenoun

Related words

Word lists with this word