动辄…
easily; at every turn; routinely (often before a large number)
Structure
动辄 + 数量／动词短语
What it means
Something happens too easily or too often, or a figure is surprisingly large: “at every turn, routinely”. It is the written form of 动不动就.
How it is built
动辄 + number or verb phrase, straight before it: 门票动辄上千元 (Tickets easily cost a thousand yuan or more); 他动辄发火 (He flies off the handle at the slightest thing).
When to use it
Written, with a critical or amazed tone. In speech say 动不动就: 他动不动就发火.
Watch out
It describes a habit or a pattern, not one past event, and it goes with surprisingly large numbers, not small ordinary ones: ✗昨天他动辄发火。 ✓他动辄发火。
Examples
几十年前的老茅台，在拍卖会上动辄上万元。
At auction a Moutai several decades old routinely fetches more than ten thousand yuan.
这些年，热门演唱会的门票动辄上千元，还一票难求。
These days tickets for popular concerts easily cost a thousand yuan or more, and they are still hard to get.
他脾气很坏，动辄发火，同事们都躲着他。
He has a foul temper and flies off the handle at the slightest thing, so his colleagues keep out of his way.
Learn this in Lesson 139 · HSK 7–9: 茅台 (Moutai)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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