Writing
时而 (shí ér) — how to say "sometimes" in Chinese
时而
Sometimes; now..., now...
frequency adverb
How to use it
Goes before the verb.
天气时而冷时而热。
tiān qì shí ér lěng shí ér rè
The weather is sometimes cold, sometimes hot.
Character composition
时
time
而
and, but, yet
Radicals / Keys
日
Sun
#72 · rì · 4 strokes
而
And
#126 · ér · 6 strokes
Synonyms
有时
sometimes
yǒu shí · neutral, general word
Collocations
时而高兴
shí ér gāo xìng
sometimes happy
时而沉默
shí ér chén mò
sometimes silent
时而出现
shí ér chū xiàn
appear from time to time
Examples
他的心情时而高兴，时而难过，变化很快。
His mood is sometimes happy, sometimes sad, changing quickly.
天气时而下雨。
The weather is sometimes rainy.
Frequently asked questions
Sometimes meaning in Chinese
"sometimes" in Chinese is 时而 (shí ér).
Shi er meaning in Mandarin
时而 (shí ér) means "Sometimes; now..., now...".
How is 时而 pronounced?
It is pronounced shí ér (written as shi er, shier). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "sometimes" in Chinese characters?
It is written 时而: 时 has 7 strokes, 而 has 6 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 时而?
时而 belongs to the HSK 6 vocabulary list.
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