How to use 再三
再三 + Verb
再三 emphasizes repeated attention to an action. It is especially common with verbs of thinking, requesting, warning, or stressing a point. The repetition can involve several separate attempts or sustained reconsideration. Put 再三 before the verb phrase, often in a relatively formal account of how seriously or persistently someone acted.
The expression does not mean exactly three times, even though it contains 三. It highlights recurrence without counting individual occurrences. Two-syllable verbs are common companions, but the important learning task is recognizing natural combinations. Aspect depends on the whole sentence rather than a strict prohibition: 了 and 过 are not automatically required or forbidden merely because 再三 is present.
Examples with pinyin and English
老师再三强调这次考试对我们很重要。
The teacher has stressed over and over that this exam is really important for us.
这个决定是经过再三考虑做出来的。
This decision was made after much consideration.
中国政府再三警告美国不要干涉中国的内政。
China's government has warned the USA repeatedly not to interfere in China's affairs.
她再三犹豫之后，选择了放弃比赛。
After hesitating again and again, she chose to quit the competition.
What to remember
- Put 再三 before the action.
- It does not specify exactly three times.
- Common partners include consideration, warning, and emphasis.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.