HSK 7–9 grammar · pattern
东A西B
东A西B — this way and that
Pattern
+ + +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
东A西B uses "east" and "west" to mean "all over the place": 东张西望 "looking this way and that". The frame owns 东 and 西; A and B are single-syllable verbs, often near-synonyms, and the whole implies scattered, unfocused activity.
Examples
他东张西望，好像在找人。
Tā dōngzhāng-xīwàng, hǎoxiàng zài zhǎo rén.
He looked all around as if searching for someone.
别东跑西跑了，坐下吧。
Bié dōng pǎo xī pǎo le, zuò xià ba.
Stop running all over the place and sit down.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 东A西B is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.