变化多端

變化多端

biànhuà-duōduān

idiom #45,110

Meanings

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

Characters

end; aspect; kind

Examples

山里的天气变化多端。

Shānlǐ de tiānqì biànhuàduōduān.

The weather in the mountains is constantly changing.

市场行情变化多端，投资要谨慎。

Shìchǎng hángqíng biànhuàduōduān, tóuzī yào jǐnshèn.

Market conditions keep shifting - invest carefully.

他的战术变化多端，对手捉摸不透。

Tā de zhànshù biànhuàduōduān, duìshǒu zhuōmō bù tòu.

His tactics shift in countless ways - opponents can't pin him down.

Tips

history

Attested in Feng Menglong's Ming collection 《古今小说·陈从善梅岭失浑家》: describing the Monkey King - '齐天大圣神通广大，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 喜怒无常.

Stroke Order

变 biàn

化 huà

多 duō

端 duān