三五成群

sānwǔchéngqún
idiom #57,322

Meanings

  1. 1 in groups of threes and fives
  2. 2 in small clusters
  3. 3 scattered in little groups

Examples

Xuéshengmen sānwǔchéngqún de zǒuchū xiào mén.
The students walked out of the school gate in little clusters.
Gōngyuán lǐ rénmen sānwǔchéngqún, huò liáotiān, huò xiàqí.
In the park people were clustered in small groups, some chatting, others playing chess.

Tips

usage
Almost always functions as an adverb with . The image is small, loose knots of people — not a crowd, not individuals, somewhere in between.

Stroke Order

sān
chéng
qún