‘愈来愈’ is an adverbial phrase meaning 'more and more' or 'increasingly.' It expresses a gradual, continuous intensification of a quality, state, or action over time. Literally, 愈 means 'more' or 'even more,' 来 functions here as a grammatical particle indicating progression (not 'to come'), and the second 愈 repeats the comparative force — together forming a fixed reduplicative pattern that emphasizes steady change. Unlike standalone adjectives or verbs, ‘愈来愈’ always modifies another adjective or verb and must appear before it.

This structure is formal yet common in both spoken and written Chinese, especially in descriptive or narrative contexts — for instance, when describing changing emotions, weather, difficulty, or frequency. It conveys nuance and subtlety better than simpler alternatives like 越来越, though they are often interchangeable. Learners should note that ‘愈来愈’ cannot stand alone; it requires a following word to complete its meaning — e.g., 愈来愈冷 (getting colder and colder), not *愈来愈 on its own.