一排排 (yì pái pái) — (measure word, reduplicated) rows upon rows; row after row

Definition

Reduplicated 排, meaning 'row after row' — a vivid, emphatic way to describe many parallel rows of people or things.

numeral
(measure word, reduplicated) rows upon rowsrow after row

Examples

  • 一排排一排排。
    Tián yě lǐ zhǒng zhe yì pái pái yì pái pái guǒ shù.
    Rows upon rows of fruit trees are planted in the fields.
  • 一排排一排排。
    Shì bīng men yì pái pái yì pái pái dì zhàn zài cāo chǎng shàng.
    The soldiers stood on the parade ground in row after row.
  • 一排排一排排。
    Tú shū guǎn lǐ de shū jià yì pái pái yì pái pái bǎi dé zhěng zhěng qí qí.
    The bookshelves in the library are arranged neatly in rows.

Origin

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.

Open 一 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi排pái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

排 uses 扌 (hand) to show arranging something with the hand, and 非 for the sound; this gives the sense of placing things in a line.

Open 排 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi排pái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

排 uses 扌 (hand) to show arranging something with the hand, and 非 for the sound; this gives the sense of placing things in a line.

Open 排 →

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