“Now and Then” – 時而 shí’ér

Posted on by tiffany

OneDotDot Chinese
Grammar · HSK 7-9
Grammar Point · HSK 7-9

时而 shí’ér — “Now and Then”

时而 shí’ér is most at home in its doubled form, 时而 A，时而 B, painting a picture of something alternating back and forth.

時而 shí'ér — At Times, Chinese grammar

時而 shí’ér can stand alone to mean “occasionally,” but its signature move is describing two states that keep alternating.

1Structure

时而 shí’ér A，时而 shí’ér B

Describes something switching back and forth between two states — repeat 時而 before each one.

天气tiānqì时而shí’ér晴朗qínglǎng，时而shí’ér多云duōyún。
The weather is sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy.
他tā时而shí’ér兴奋xīngfèn，时而shí’ér沮丧jǔsàng，情绪qíngxù很hěn不bù稳定wěndìng。
He’s sometimes excited, sometimes dejected — his mood is very unstable.
这zhè条tiáo河hé时而shí’ér湍急tuānjí，时而shí’ér平缓pínghuǎn。
This river is sometimes turbulent, sometimes calm.
她tā时而shí’ér唱歌chànggē，时而shí’ér跳舞tiàowǔ，非常fēicháng活泼huópō。
She sometimes sings, sometimes dances — very lively.
山路shānlù时而shí’ér上坡shàngpō，时而shí’ér下坡xiàpō。
The mountain road goes uphill at times, downhill at others.
他tā时而shí’ér会huì想起xiǎngqǐ故乡gùxiāng。
He occasionally thinks of his hometown. (standalone use)
这里zhèlǐ时而shí’ér传来chuánlái笑声xiàoshēng。
Laughter can be heard here from time to time.

2Common Mistake

❌ 天气tiānqì时而shí’ér晴朗qínglǎng，又yòu多云duōyún
✅ 天气tiānqì时而shí’ér晴朗qínglǎng，时而shí’ér多云duōyún
The alternating pattern needs 時而 repeated before each item — swapping the second one for 又 breaks the parallel structure.

3Practice

Translate each sentence into Chinese, then tap the card to check your answer.

01The lake is sometimes calm, sometimes stormy.
湖面húmiàn时而shí’ér平静píngjìng，时而shí’ér汹涌xiōngyǒng。
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02My grandfather sometimes tells jokes, sometimes dozes off.
我wǒ爷爷yéye时而shí’ér讲jiǎng笑话xiàohuà，时而shí’ér打dǎ瞌睡kēshuì。
👆 Tap to reveal
03The signal is sometimes strong, sometimes weak.
信号xìnhào时而shí’ér强qiáng，时而shí’ér弱ruò。
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04She occasionally calls to check on me.
她tā时而shí’ér打dǎ电话diànhuà关心guānxīn我wǒ。
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05The road is sometimes crowded, sometimes empty.
这zhè条tiáo路lù时而shí’ér拥挤yōngjǐ，时而shí’ér空旷kōngkuàng。
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06The children were sometimes laughing, sometimes crying.
孩子们háizimen时而shí’ér大笑dàxiào，时而shí’ér大哭dàkū。
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07His health is sometimes good, sometimes poor.
他tā的de健康jiànkāng时而shí’ér好hǎo，时而shí’ér差chà。
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08The music sometimes speeds up, sometimes slows down.
音乐yīnyuè时而shí’ér加快jiākuài，时而shí’ér放慢fàngmàn。
👆 Tap to reveal

Related Grammar

→All Adverbs of Frequency

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