迭 (dié) · alternately, repeatedly, in succession

Meanings

1 alternately
2 repeatedly
3 in succession

Characters

迭

dié

alternately; repeatedly

Examples

HSK 5

事故迭出，必须加强管理。

Shìgù dié chū, bìxū jiāqiáng guǎnlǐ.

Accidents keep occurring repeatedly; management must be strengthened.

HSK 7-9

高潮迭起，观众非常兴奋。

Gāocháo-diéqǐ, guānzhòng fēicháng xīngfèn.

Climaxes came one after another, and the audience was thrilled.

Tips

usage

迭 often appears in literary or formal compounds: 迭出 (to emerge repeatedly), 迭起 (to rise one after another), 更迭 (to alternate/change). It is not the same as 叠 (to stack/fold).

mistakes

Don't confuse 迭 (repeatedly) with 叠 (to fold/stack). They sound the same but have different meanings.

Components

radical

辶 chuò

walk; motion (radical form)

Wrapping motion radical (side-form of 辵) - the indexing radical, picturing a foot moving along a path. Anchors 迭 in the movement/sequence family with 进 advance, 退 retreat, 逐 chase, 递 hand over. Wraps the right and bottom of the character, with 失 nestled inside the curve.

phonetic

失 shī

lose (here phonetic)

Inner 失 supplies the sound: shī becomes dié through historical sh/d alternation. Same phonetic family: 跌 stumble, 秩 order, 帙 book cover. Pure sound role here - the 'lose' meaning of 失 doesn't carry into 迭, which is firmly about alternation and succession.