一会儿…，一会儿… · 一方面…，另一方面…
now A, now B (it keeps switching) · on the one hand A, on the other hand B (two sides or two reasons)
Structure
一会儿 A ，一会儿 B · 一方面 A ，另一方面 B
What it means
一会儿 A，一会儿 B says something keeps switching: “now A, now B”. 一方面 A，另一方面 B gives two sides of one thing, or two reasons: “on the one hand…, on the other…”.
How it is built
一会儿 A，一会儿 B: 孩子一会儿哭，一会儿笑 (the child cries one minute and laughs the next). 一方面 A，另一方面 (也／又) B: 学外语一方面要多听，另一方面要多说.
When to use it
Alone, 一会儿 is “a little while” (h2-16); doubled, it is for weather, children or moods that keep changing, with A and B often opposites (冷／热, 哭／笑). In 一方面 sentences the second part often has 也 or 又.
Watch out
Don’t use 一方面 for things that keep changing: ✗ 天气一方面冷，另一方面热 ✓ 天气一会儿冷，一会儿热.
Examples
孩子一会儿哭，一会儿笑。
The child cries one minute and laughs the next.
今天一会儿下雨，一会儿出太阳。
Today it’s raining one moment and sunny the next.
学外语一方面要多听，另一方面要多说。
To learn a foreign language you need to listen a lot on the one hand, and speak a lot on the other.
我想住在这儿，一方面离公司近，另一方面房租也不贵。
I want to live here: for one thing it’s close to work, and for another the rent isn’t high.
Learn this in HSK 3 · Lesson 18: 一会儿冷，一会儿热 (Cold one minute, warm the next)
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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