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时好时坏 (shí hǎo shí huài) — sometimes good, sometimes bad; fluctuating between good and bad

Definition

A four-character phrase meaning quality or a situation keeps shifting between good and bad — not stable, not consistently one way. Use it to describe fluctuating conditions, not a single event.

phrase
sometimes goodsometimes badfluctuating between good and bad

Examples

  • 时好时坏，。
    Tā de bìng qíng shí hǎo shí huài, yī shēng shuō yào jì xù guān chá.
    His condition fluctuates; the doctor says to keep observing.
  • 时好时坏，。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng de cài zhì liàng shí hǎo shí huài, bú tài wěn dìng.
    The quality of the dishes at this restaurant is inconsistent.
  • 时好时坏，。
    Zuì jìn gǔ shì shí hǎo shí huài, tóu zī zhě dōu hěn jǐn shèn.
    The stock market has been up and down lately; investors are all cautious.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

时好at times good
时shíat times好hǎogood
偏正Modifier + head
时坏at times bad
时shíat times坏huàibad
偏正Modifier + head

时好 and 时坏 alternate, each combining 时 (“at times”) with 好 or 坏 to show shifting quality.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

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

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 壞; 坏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
褱
褱huái壞huài
Same sound today

For the traditional form 壞, 土 (earth) is the meaning part and 褱 supplies the sound; earth is used because something that rots eventually becomes earth. This is about 壞, not the simplified 坏.

Open 坏 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Change & ProcessGood & Bad

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.