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

HSK 4

日出日落，周而复始，这就是自然规律。

Rìchū rìluò, zhōu'érfùshǐ, zhè jiùshì zìrán guīlǜ.

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

HSK 7-9

四季更替，周而复始。

Sìjì gēngtì, zhōu'érfùshǐ.

The four seasons alternate, cycling endlessly.

HSK 7-9

他的生活周而复始，毫无变化。

Tā de shēnghuó zhōu'érfùshǐ, háowú biànhuà.

His life repeats in an unchanging cycle.

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.

Stroke Order

周 zhōu

而 ér

复 fù

始 shǐ