一波三折 (yī bō sān zhé) — twists and turns; a series of setbacks or frust… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Idiom for a story, project, or life that hits repeated setbacks before reaching a happy outcome. Suggests a hard-won resolution rather than simple difficulty.

idiom

twists and turnsa series of setbacks or frustrations

Examples

一波三折。
Zhè ge xiàng mù cóng kāi shǐ dào jié shù jīng lì le yī bō sān zhé.
This project went through many twists and turns from start to finish.
一波三折，。
Tā de rén shēng dào lù yī bō sān zhé, dàn tā cóng wèi fàng qì.
His life path has had many ups and downs, but he never gave up.
一波三折，。
Zhè ge gù shi de qíng jié yī bō sān zhé, fēi cháng xī yǐn rén.
The plot of this story is full of twists and turns, very engaging.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

一波one wave

一yīone波bōwave

偏正Modifier + head

三折three bends

三sānthree折zhébend

偏正Modifier + head

A single 波 and three 折 make many twists.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

氵皮波

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

皮

皮pí波bō

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 氵 is water, and the right side 皮 gives the sound.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

屮𣏄𣏄a tree {{zh-m|*木}} cut in half
斤斤jīnaxe

The shape originally showed an axe (斤) cutting a tree in half; in 折 the left part is now written as a hand.

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