纷纷

• Pinyin: fēn fēn
• Hanzi breakdown: 纷 = 纟(silk) + 分 (divide, phonetic) — threads scattering in all directions; reduplicated for emphasis

Meaning

One after another; in succession. Describes multiple people or things doing something in rapid sequence.

Used as an adverb to indicate that many subjects perform the same action in quick succession or simultaneously. Often appears in news reports and narratives. Can also describe things falling or scattering in profusion, such as leaves or snowflakes.

Examples

1. 听到这个消息，大家纷纷表示支持。 Upon hearing the news, everyone expressed their support one after another.
2. 树叶纷纷从树上落下来。 Leaves fell from the trees one after another.
3. 同学们纷纷举手回答老师的问题。 The classmates raised their hands one after another to answer the teacher's question.

Usage Guide

Context: narrative, news

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 下课后，学生们纷纷走出教室。(After class, the students filed out of the classroom one after another.)
• 消息传出后，网友纷纷发表评论。(After the news broke, netizens commented one after another.)

Don't Say

• 他纷纷去了超市 (Don't use 纷纷 for a single person — it requires multiple subjects acting in succession)

Origin & History

Reduplicated form of 纷 (tangled, confused), which originally depicted silk threads in disarray. The reduplication emphasises multiplicity and succession.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal