HSK 7–9 grammar · pattern
忽A忽B
忽A忽B — now A, now B
Pattern
+ + +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
忽A忽B describes something swinging unpredictably between two opposite states: 忽冷忽热 "now cold, now hot". The repetition of 忽 ("suddenly") is what carries the instability, so A and B must be opposites.
Examples
最近天气忽冷忽热。
Zuìjìn tiānqì hū lěng hū rè.
The weather lately keeps swinging between cold and hot.
他对我忽冷忽热的。
Tā duì wǒ hū lěng hū rè de.
He blows hot and cold with me.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 忽A忽B is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.