翻来覆去

• Pinyin: fān lái fù qù
• Hanzi breakdown: 翻 = 番 + 羽 — to flip; 来 = pictograph of a grain plant — to come; 覆 = 覀 (cover) + 复 (return) — to overturn; 去 = 土 (earth) + 厶 (private) — to go

Meaning

Tossing and turning; over and over again; repeatedly without resolution. Describes physical restlessness or repetitive, indecisive mental activity.

Used to describe both literal physical movement (unable to sleep) and figurative repetition (going over the same issue repeatedly). Conveys frustration and lack of resolution. Common in casual speech and literary narrative.

Examples

1. 他整夜翻来覆去睡不着，脑海中反复盘算着明天谈判中每一个可能出现的变数和应对策略。 He tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, repeatedly running through every possible variable in tomorrow’s negotiation and the strategies to handle them.
2. 审稿委员会在这份报告的措辞上翻来覆去地修改了三个星期，最终仍未能就关键段落的表述达成一致意见。 The review committee went back and forth revising the wording of this report for three weeks, yet still couldn’t reach agreement on how to phrase the key paragraph.
3. 她翻来覆去地看那封辞职信，始终拿不定主意究竟是现在提交还是再等待一个更合适的时机。 She read the resignation letter over and over, unable to decide whether to submit it now or wait for a more suitable moment.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, emotions, deliberation, sleep

Tone: expressive

Do Say

• 她在床上翻来覆去了将近三个小时，那段失控的对话就像一段循环播放的录像反复在脑中出现，令她彻底无法入眠，直到天色将明才勉强闭上双眼。(She tossed and turned in bed for nearly three hours; that out-of-control conversation kept replaying in her mind like a looping video, making it utterly impossible for her to fall asleep until the sky was almost light before she finally managed to close her eyes.)
• 项目组在这个技术方案上翻来覆去地讨论了将近一个月，却始终无法就核心架构的取舍问题形成共识，最终不得不引入外部顾问来打破僵局。(The project team went back and forth on this technical proposal for nearly a month but was consistently unable to reach consensus on the trade-offs in the core architecture, ultimately having to bring in an external consultant to break the deadlock.)

Don't Say

• 翻来覆去地翻 — avoid adding 翻 as a verb after this idiom since it is already encoded in the compound; say 翻来覆去地想 or 翻来覆去无法入睡 for grammatically clean and natural phrasing

Origin & History

翻 (to flip) + 来 (come) + 覆 (to overturn) + 去 (go) — flipping back and forth repeatedly in both directions

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal