迭起

• Pinyin: dié qǐ
• Hanzi breakdown: 迭 = 辶 + 失 (alternating, successive, one after another); 起 = 走 + 己 (to arise, to stand up, to occur)

Meaning

To occur repeatedly in succession; to arise one after another; to happen in recurring waves.

Primarily used in near-fixed phrases: 高潮迭起 (climax after climax), 问题迭起 (problems arising in succession), 争议迭起 (controversy upon controversy). Describes situations where events follow each other in rapid, recurring waves. Carries a slightly literary or formal register.

Examples

1. 这部悬疑小说情节跌宕起伏，高潮迭起，令读者始终处于高度紧张的阅读状态之中，难以释卷。 This suspense novel is full of twists and turns, with one climax after another, keeping readers on edge and unable to put it down.
2. 近年来，该公司管理层内部矛盾迭起，频繁的高层人事变动严重影响了公司整体的战略稳定性。 In recent years, internal conflicts within the company’s leadership have flared up repeatedly, and frequent executive shake-ups have seriously undermined strategic stability.
3. 会议进行到后半段，争议迭起，各方代表就核心议题展开了激烈而深入的辩论，难以形成共识。 In the second half of the meeting, controversies kept erupting, and representatives debated the core issues intensely and at length, making it hard to reach a consensus.

Usage Guide

Context: literature, journalism, narrative, commentary

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 演唱会进入尾声时，台上台下情绪达到顶点，掌声与欢呼声高潮迭起，久久不息。(As the concert drew to a close, emotions on stage and in the audience reached a peak — waves of applause and cheers arose one after another, refusing to subside.)
• 改革开放以来，经济发展奇迹迭起，每隔数年便有新的突破改写人们对可能性边界的认知。(Since the reform and opening up, economic miracles have arisen in succession — every few years a new breakthrough has redrawn the boundaries of what people believe possible.)

Don't Say

• 问题迭起了三次 — 迭起 describes a pattern of recurring succession, not a specific count; for exact repetitions, use 出现了三次 or 发生了三回 instead

Origin & History

迭 (alternating, successive, repeatedly occurring) + 起 (to arise, to occur)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal