三番五次

sānfānwǔcì

idiom HSK 7 #58,798

Meanings

1 over and over again
2 time and again
3 repeatedly

Characters

time; occurrence

Literally 'three turns, five times' — emphasizes repeated occurrences

Examples

我三番五次地提醒他，他还是忘了。

Wǒ sānfānwǔcì de tíxǐng tā, tā háishì wàng le.

I reminded him over and over again, but he still forgot.

她三番五次地迟到，老板很不满。

Tā sānfānwǔcì de chídào, lǎobǎn hěn bùmǎn.

She was late time and again, and the boss was very unhappy.

Tips

usage

三番五次 usually carries a tone of frustration or annoyance — it implies the repetition is unwelcome. Compare with 反复 (fǎnfù, repeatedly), which is neutral.

memory

3 turns + 5 times = 8 total attempts — way too many! The exaggerated numbers convey the speaker's exasperation.

Stroke Order

三 sān

番 fān

五 wǔ

次 cì