📖 Meaning
This idiom means to repeat something over and over again, going back and forth multiple times. It describes a process, action, or thought that recurs repeatedly, often causing frustration or mental distress.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom appears in Liu Qing's novel '创业史' (Building a Career), Part 2, Chapter 25. In the passage, a character lies awake in a dazed state, his mind endlessly cycling through the same thoughts — a black horse, a man named Bai Zhankui, and the agricultural cooperative — repeating back and forth until it gives his bald head a splitting ache. The phrase vividly captures the torment of thoughts that circle repeatedly without resolution.
💡 Example Usage
他把这段话返来复去地读了好几遍，还是没有理解其中的意思。
He read this passage over and over again several times, but still could not grasp its meaning.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 返来复去
- Pinyin: fǎn lái fù qù
- Literal Translation: return, come, again, go
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4