变化多端

變化多端
biànhuàduōduān
idiom #45,110

Meanings

  1. 1 changing in many ways
  2. 2 ever-changing; full of variations; protean

Examples

Shān lǐ de tiānqì biànhuàduōduān.
The weather in the mountains is constantly changing.
Shìchǎng hángqíng biànhuàduōduān, tóuzī yào jǐnshèn.
Market conditions keep shifting — invest carefully.
Tā de zhànshù biànhuàduōduān, duìshǒu zhuōmō bùtòu.
His tactics shift in countless ways — opponents can't pin him down.

Tips

history
Attested in Feng Menglong's Ming collection 《小说·》: describing the Monkey King — '天大神通广大变化多端.' Evocative of magical shape-shifting, which is still where the idiom shines.
usage
Neutral to slightly admiring for tactics/strategy/weather; slightly wary for market/situation. Not for describing a person's moods — for that use 无常.

Stroke Order

biàn
huà
duō
duān