📖 Meaning
To change constantly and unpredictably; to be fickle or inconsistent in attitude or behavior. It describes someone or something that shifts back and forth without any stable pattern.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the poem 'Xing Lu Nan' (行路难) by Wu Jun of the Liang dynasty during the Southern Dynasties period. The line reads, '当年翻复无常定，薄命为女何必粗' (In those years things turned over and over without any constancy; ill-fated to be a woman, why should one be so coarse?). Wu Jun used the phrase to lament the unpredictability and instability of life's circumstances.
💡 Example Usage
他的态度翻复无常，让人难以捉摸他到底想要什么。
His attitude is so fickle and unpredictable that it's hard to figure out what he really wants.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 翻复无常
- Pinyin: fān fù wú cháng
- Literal Translation: turn over, again and again, without, constant
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4