错落有致
cuò luò yǒu zhì
irregular yet pleasingly arranged; at varied heights in a pleasing pattern
Character by character
错cuò
uneven
uneven
落luò
scattered
scattered
有yǒu
have
have
致zhì
charm
charm
Example
山坡上的房子高高低低，错落有致，晚上亮起灯来特别好看。
The houses on the hillside rise at different heights in a pleasing jumble, and look lovely when the lights come on at night.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
错落 is “uneven, scattered”, 有致 “with grace”. Said of buildings, trees, rocks, flower beds, even the lines of a poem: things of different heights or sizes arranged with a pleasing rhythm.
Learn this in Lesson 21 · HSK 5: 山城重庆 (Chongqing, the mountain city)
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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