周而复始

週而復始

zhōu'érfùshǐ

idiom #36,112

Meanings

1 to go round and start again
2 to repeat in an endless cycle
3 the cycle begins anew

Characters

cycle; circumference

and then; thereupon

again; to repeat

Examples

四季更替,周而复始。

Sìjì gēngtì, zhōu ér fù shǐ.

The four seasons alternate, cycling endlessly.

他的生活周而复始,毫无变化。

Tā de shēnghuó zhōu ér fù shǐ, háo wú biànhuà.

His life repeats in an unchanging cycle.

日出日落,周而复始,这就是自然规律。

Rì chū rì luò, zhōu ér fù shǐ, zhè jiùshì zìrán guīlǜ.

Sunrise and sunset, cycling endlessly — this is the law of nature.

Tips

history

From 《汉书·礼乐志》: '精健日月,星辰度理,阴阳五行,周而复始' — in describing the cosmos, the Han historians used this phrase for the turning of yin-yang and the five elements. Originally cosmological, now applied to anything cyclical.

grammar

Note the required apostrophe in pinyin: zhōu'érfùshǐ, because 而 begins with a vowel after 周.

Stroke Order

周 zhōu

而 ér

复 fù

始 shǐ