HSK 5 · Function Words

反复 fǎnfù “repeatedly” in Chinese

Traditional 反覆

What 反复 means

  1. repeatedly
  2. over and over
  3. to upend
  4. unstable
  5. to come and go
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • (of an illness) to return

How to say 反复

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale反fǎn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale复fù4th tone, falling

反复 in a sentence

  1. 虽然他对我反复解释这首诗的意思，我还是不懂。

    Suīrán tā duì wǒ fǎnfù jiěshì zhè shǒu shī de yìsi, wǒ háishi bù dǒng.

    Even though he explained the meaning of this poem to me over and over again, I still don’t get it.

    Sentence #1402568 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 他在心里反复思量这件事。

    Tā zài xīnli fǎnfù sīliang zhè jiàn shì.

    He turned the matter over and over in his mind.

    Sentence #863328 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我知道自己是个累赘，你没必要反复提。

    Wǒ zhīdao zìjǐ shì ge léizhui, nǐ méi bìyào fǎnfù tí.

    I know I’m a burden – you don’t need to keep bringing it up.

    Sentence #4757235 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 反复 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 反 (fǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
反fǎncontrary
  • 厂cliff · hǎn
  • 又again · yòu
The character 复 (fù) with each of its parts in a different colour
复fùto go and return
  • 亻person form of 人 · rén
  • 日sun · rì
  • 夂go · zhǐ

How to write 反复

反 4 strokes · 复 9 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

反复 (fǎnfù) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 反复 (fǎnfù). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 反复

Words with 反

反对fǎnduì · to oppose相反xiāngfǎn · opposite反映fǎnyìng · to reflect反应fǎnyìng · to react违反wéifǎn · to violate (a law)反而fǎn'ér · on the contrary反正fǎnzhèng · anyway反驳fǎnbó · to refute反思fǎnsī · to reflect on反问fǎnwèn · to ask a rhetorical question

Words with 复

复习fùxí · revise复印fùyìn · to photocopy复杂fùzá · complicated恢复huīfù · to recover重复chóngfù · to repeat复制fùzhì · to duplicate答复dáfù · to reply报复bàofu · to retaliate修复xiūfù · to repair复兴fùxīng · revival

More words: Function Words & Grammar

朵duǒ · measure word for flowers and clouds多亏duōkuī · thanks to嗯ǹg · uh-huh反而fǎn'ér · on the contrary反正fǎnzhèng · anyway仿佛fǎngfú · as if非fēi · to not be纷纷fēnfēn · one after another

FAQs

反复 (fǎnfù) means “repeatedly” or “over and over”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it fǎnfù: fǎn with a 3rd tone, then fù with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 反复 is written 反覆. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type fanfu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 反复 from the suggestions. Typing fanfu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
反复 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.