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此起彼伏

Mandarin · pinyin cǐ qǐ bǐ fú

up here, down there (idiom); to rise and fall in succession
no sooner one subsides, the next arises
repeating continuously
occurring again and again (of applause, fires, waves, protests, conflicts, uprisings etc)

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Characters in this entry

此: cǐ · this, these; in this case, then
起: qǐ · rise, stand up; go up; begin
彼: bǐ · that, there, those
伏: fú · crouch, crawl, lie hidden, conceal

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3–3–2 · ci3 qi3 bi3 fu2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ci2 hei2 bei2 fuk6

Cantonese word readings for 此起彼伏. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) synonym of 此起彼落 (cǐqǐbǐluò, “(of sounds) rising and falling; continuous; unceasing”)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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