纷至沓来

紛至沓來

fēnzhìtàlái

idiom #35,358

Meanings

1 to arrive in throngs (idiom)
2 to come thick and fast
3 to pour in one after another

Characters

numerous; in profusion

to arrive; to reach

heaped; repeated

Examples

新产品上市后，订单纷至沓来。

Xīn chǎnpǐn shàngshì hòu, dìngdān fēnzhìtàlái.

After the new product launched, orders came pouring in.

获奖的消息一传开，祝贺纷至沓来。

Huòjiǎng de xiāoxi yī chuán kāi, zhùhè fēnzhìtàlái.

As soon as news of the award spread, congratulations came flooding in.

记者纷至沓来，把他围住。

Jìzhě fēnzhìtàlái, bǎ tā wéi zhù.

Reporters poured in and surrounded him.

Tips

history

Traced to Zhu Xi's 《答何叔京》 (Song): 事物纷至而沓来 — events crowding in one on top of another. 沓 (tà) means 'stacking/repeating', intensifying the sense of unbroken arrival.

register

Literary and formal. In speech you'd more often say 接二连三 or 一个接一个. 纷至沓来 belongs in newspapers, reports, and writing.

Stroke Order

纷 fēn

至 zhì

沓 tà

来 lái