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相继

one after another; in succession (written)

Structure
主语(几个人或几件事) 相继 动词

What it means

Several people or things do the same thing one after another, in succession. Written and formal.

How it is built

Subject (several people or things) + 相继 + verb: 几家老店相继关门 (Several old shops closed one after another). With a single subject the objects must be several: 公司相继推出了三款新车.

When to use it

News and formal writing. Compare 陆续 (in a steady trickle, fine in speech), 先后 (in order, often one person’s experiences) and 接连 (without a break). The related 继…之后 (following …) is a headline favourite: 继北京之后,上海也…

Watch out

There must be more than one: ✗这家老店相继关门。 ✓几家老店相继关门。

Examples

这些年,超市、便利店和电商相继涌现。
In recent years supermarkets, convenience stores and online retailers have sprung up one after another.
入冬以后,几家滑雪场相继开门迎客。
Since winter set in, several ski resorts have opened their doors one after another.
那年春天,三位老师傅相继退休,厂里一下子没人会做这道工序了。
That spring three old masters retired one after another, and suddenly nobody at the factory could do that part of the job.
Learn this in Lesson 138 · HSK 7–9: 老字号 (The time-honoured brands)
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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