back-to-back; in close succession
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
2 senses · 6 examplesadverb
(of two or more people) to arrive or leave at almost the same time; back-to-back
informalUsually implies a coincidental or nearly simultaneous timing between people's movements.
Wǒ我
men们
liǎ俩
qián前
hòu后
jiǎo脚
jìn进
de的
mén门
。
The two of us walked in the door back-to-back.
Tā他
men们
qián前
hòu后
jiǎo脚
lí离
kāi开
le了
gōng公
sī司
，
shuí谁
yě也
méi没
yù遇
jiàn见
shuí谁
。
They left the company one right after the other without running into each other.
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Wǒ我
hé和
tā他
shì是
qián前
hòu后
jiǎo脚
dào到
Běi北
jīng京
de的
，
xiāng相
chà差
bù不
dào到
yī一
gè个
xiǎo小
shí时
。
He and I arrived in Beijing back-to-back, less than an hour apart.
adverb
(of two events) to happen in quick succession; one after another
informalEmphasizes that the time gap between two events is short, often used for marriages, births, or occurrences.
Tā她
men们
liǎ俩
shì是
qián前
hòu后
jiǎo脚
jié结
de的
hūn婚
。
The two of them got married one right after the other.
Zhè这
liǎng两
gè个
xiàng项
mù目
qián前
hòu后
jiǎo脚
qǐ启
dòng动
，
xiàn现
zài在
dōu都
kuài快
wán完
gōng工
le了
。
These two projects started back-to-back, and now they're both almost finished.
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Tā他
jiā家
liǎng两
gè个
hái孩
zi子
shì是
qián前
hòu后
jiǎo脚
chū出
shēng生
de的
，
zhǐ只
chà差
shí十
gè个
yuè月
。
His two children were born back-to-back, only ten months apart.