Word

三番五次 (sān fān wǔ cì) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 7

Meaning of 三番五次

成语 chéng yǔ idiom

time and again

我三番五次地提醒他，他就是不听。

wǒ sān fān wǔ cì de tí xǐng tā tā jiù shì bù tīng

I reminded him time and again, but he just wouldn't listen.

Word breakdown

三 sān — three (indicating multiple times)

1 再三 zài sān — repeatedly HSK 6
- 再 again, once more
- 三 multiple times (three representing 'several')
Example

我再三提醒他要小心。

wǒ zài sān tí xǐng tā yào xiǎo xīn

I repeatedly reminded him to be careful.
2 三维 sān wéi — three-dimensional HSK 7
- 三 three (number of dimensions)
- 维 dimension
Example

这个游戏使用三维图形技术。

zhè ge yóu xì shǐ yòng sān wéi tú xíng jì shù

This game uses three-dimensional graphics technology.
3 三角 sān jiǎo — triangle HSK 7
- 三 three (indicating three sides/angles)
- 角 angle/corner (geometric concept)
Example

桌子上有一个三角尺。

zhuō zi shàng yǒu yí gè sān jiǎo chǐ

There is a set square on the table.
4 丢三落四 diū sān là sì — forgetful and careless HSK 7
- 丢 to lose
- 三 three (symbolic number indicating frequency)
- 落 to drop, to leave behind
- 四 four (symbolic number indicating frequency)
Example

他总是丢三落四，今天又忘带钥匙了。

tā zǒng shì diū sān là sì jīn tiān yòu wàng dài yào shi le

He's always forgetful and careless; today he forgot to bring his keys again.
5 举一反三 jǔ yī fǎn sān — draw inferences from one example HSK 7
- 举 raise, give (an example)
- 一 one (example)
- 反 infer back, deduce
- 三 three (representing many)
Example

她很聪明，学习时总能举一反三。

tā hěn cōng ming xué xí shí zǒng néng jǔ yī fǎn sān

She is very smart and can always draw inferences from one example when studying.

Show more (+2)

6 接二连三 jiē èr lián sān — one after another HSK 7
- 接 connect, join
- 二 two (beginning of sequence)
- 连 link, connect continuously
- 三 three (continuation of sequence)
Example

最近公司接二连三地出现问题。

zuì jìn gōng sī jiē èr lián sān de chū xiàn wèn tí

Recently, the company has had problems one after another.
7 朝三暮四 zhāo sān mù sì — fickle; changeable; inconsistent HSK 7
- 朝 morning
- 三 three
- 暮 evening
- 四 four
Example

别朝三暮四的，要专心做好一件事。

bié zhāo sān mù sì de yào zhuān xīn zuò hǎo yī jiàn shì

Don't be fickle; focus on doing one thing well.

番 fān — times/occasions (indicating instances)

1 番茄 fān qié — tomato HSK 5
- 番 foreign, exotic (indicating non-native origin)
- 茄 nightshade family plant (botanical classification)
Example

我喜欢吃番茄炒鸡蛋。

wǒ xǐ huan chī fān qié chǎo jī dàn

I like to eat tomato and scrambled eggs.
2 翻番 fān fān — to double HSK 7
- 翻 to overturn, to multiply
- 番 times, occurrences (multiplication factor)
Example

今年的销售额翻番了。

jīn nián de xiāo shòu é fān fān le

This year's sales have doubled.

五 wǔ — five (emphasizing repetition)

1 五颜六色 wǔ yán liù sè — colorful, multicolored HSK 5
- 五 five (representing many/various)
- 颜 color, hue
- 六 six (representing many/various)
- 色 color, shade
Example

花园里的花朵五颜六色，非常美丽。

huā yuán lǐ de huā duǒ wǔ yán liù sè fēi cháng měi lì

The flowers in the garden are colorful and very beautiful.
2 五官 wǔ guān — facial features HSK 7
- 五 five (referring to the five major sense organs)
- 官 organ/feature (sensory organs or facial features)
Example

她的五官很精致。

tā de wǔ guān hěn jīng zhì

Her facial features are very delicate.
3 五湖四海 wǔ hú sì hǎi — all corners of the country HSK 7
- 五 five (representing numerous)
- 湖 lakes (inland regions)
- 四 four (cardinal directions)
- 海 seas (vast expanses)
Example

五湖四海的人们聚集在这里庆祝节日。

wǔ hú sì hǎi de rén men jù jí zài zhè lǐ qìng zhù jié rì

People from all corners gathered here to celebrate the festival.
4 五花八门 wǔ huā bā mén — of great variety HSK 7
- 五 five - symbolizes multiplicity
- 花 flower/pattern - represents variety of patterns
- 八 eight - emphasizes multiplicity
- 门 door/category - represents different categories
Example

市场上的商品五花八门。

shì chǎng shàng de shāng pǐn wǔ huā bā mén

The goods at the market are of great variety.