一来二去

一來二去

yīlái-èrqù

idiom #84,238

Meanings

1 over the course of repeated interactions
2 gradually; little by little
3 with back-and-forth contact

Characters

Examples

HSK 2

一来二去，两个人成了好朋友。

Yīlái-èrqù, liǎng gè rén chéng le hǎo péngyou.

With one visit after another, the two of them became good friends.

HSK 4

一来二去，误会慢慢解开了。

Yīlái-èrqù, wùhuì mànmàn jiěkāi le.

Over time, the misunderstanding gradually cleared up.

HSK 6

一来二去，他也学会了几句中文。

Yīlái-èrqù, tā yě xuéhuì le jǐ jù Zhōngwén.

After enough back-and-forth, he even picked up some Chinese.

Tips

history

Attested in 《红楼梦》 ch. 58: 一来二去，两个人就装糊涂了 - 'over repeated exchanges the two of them played dumb'. Qing novels fixed this colloquial rhythm as a canonical idiom.

usage

Almost always sentence-initial, describing a gradual outcome that emerges from repeated small interactions. Pairs well with verbs like 熟了, 成了, 学会了.

Stroke Order

一 yī

来 lái

二 èr

去 qù