No matter which textbooks you use to learn Chinese, the word \u201cand-\u548c(h\u00e9)\u201d is always one of the first few words that you learned. It\u2019s not a difficult word, so even a beginner level learner can use \u201c\u82f9\u679c\u548c\u9999\u8549(p\u00ednggu\u01d2 h\u00e9 xi\u0101ngji\u0101o)\u201d \u2013 \u201capples and bananas\u201d. But the interesting thing is even an intermediate above level learner will still make mistakes on \u201c\u548c\u201d(h\u00e9). So, what makes this simple word tricky? Today, we will explore how it can trick you and how you can avoid it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When a Chinese teacher teaches \u201c\u548c\u201d(h\u00e9), he or she will always mention that \u201c\u548c(h\u00e9)\u201d is used to connect two nouns not adjectives or sentences. <\/strong>For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two nouns: \u6211\u6709\u82f9\u679c\u548c\u9999\u8549(w\u01d2 y\u01d2u p\u00ednggu\u01d2 h\u00e9 xi\u0101ngji\u0101o)\u3002= I have apples and bananas. \u221a<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Two adjectives: \u5979\u5f88\u9ad8\u548c\u5f88\u6f02\u4eae(t\u0101 h\u011bn g\u0101o h\u00e9 h\u011bn pi\u00e0oli\u00e0ng)\u3002= She is tall and pretty. \u00d7<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Two sentences: \u660e\u5929\u6211\u53bb\u5b66\u6821\u548c\u6211\u53bb\u8d85\u5e02\u3002= I will go to school, and I will go to the supermarket tomorrow. \u00d7<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n It looks simple but why do people keep on making mistakes on it? I think that\u2019s because even if you know \u201c\u548c(h\u00e9)\u201d, it can\u2019t be used to connect two adjectives and sentences. Therefore, you still don\u2019t know the correct way. To avoid the mistakes, you need to know how to use \u201cand\u201d to connect two adjectives and nouns.<\/p>\n\n\n 1. \u53c8(y\u00f2u)\u2026\u2026\u53c8(y\u00f2u) <\/strong>for adjectives. It is a common pattern to connect two adjectives. When using this pattern, you shouldn\u2019t use \u201c\u5f88\u201d(h\u011bn). For example,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notice that<\/strong> the two adjectives you use in this pattern should be either positive or both negative. It doesn\u2019t work if you use one positive adjective and one negative adjective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u8fd9\u4ef6\u8863\u670d\u53c8\u8d35\u53c8\u6f02\u4eae<\/em>(zh\u00e8 ji\u00e0n y\u012bfu y\u00f2u gu\u00ec y\u00f2u pi\u00e0oli\u00e0ng)\u3002= This clothing is expensive and pretty. \u00d7<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. A comma is another option.<\/strong> A comma can be used to connect two adjectives too. Simply place it between the two adjective phrases. For example,<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. A period is most commonly used. <\/strong>Compare to English, Chinese prefer a short sentence. That means Chinese would rather use two sentences than use \u201c\u548c\u201d(h\u00e9) to connect them. For example,<\/p>\n\n\n\n In many cases, if the subjects of these sentences are the same, a comma also works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u4ed6\u89c9\u5f97\u4e0d\u8212\u670d\uff0c\u4ed6\u51b3\u5b9a\u56de\u5bb6<\/em>(t\u0101 ju\u00e9de b\u00f9 sh\u016bfu, t\u0101 ju\u00e9d\u00ecng hu\u00ed ji\u0101)\u3002<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n An English speaker might feel weird to use two consequent sentences without any conjunction. But that\u2019s the most common way how Chinese say it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Other conjunctions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you just feel too ackward to use two sentences with no conjunction, then try some other conjunctions. A good one for two consequent sentences is \u201c\u7136\u540e(r\u00e1nh\u00f3u)-then\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes \u201cand\u201d could mean \u201cbut\u201d, in that case \u201c\u53ef\u662f(k\u011bsh\u00ec)-but\u201d is also a good choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So one simple tip is if you want to use \u201cand\u201d but it\u2019s not to connect two nouns, the easiest way is just OMIT \u201cand\u201d. You don\u2019t need anything here! Now you mastered the way to express \u201cand\u201d in different situations. Please don`t write a \u201c\u5979\u5f88\u9ad8\u548c\u5f88\u6f02\u4eae(t\u0101 h\u011bn g\u0101o h\u00e9 h\u011bn pi\u00e0oli\u00e0ng)\u201d any more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leave me a comment if you have any question. See you next time!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" No matter which textbooks you use to learn Chinese, the word \u201cand-\u548c(h\u00e9)\u201d is always one of the first few words that you learned. It\u2019s not a difficult word, so even a beginner level learner can use \u201c\u82f9\u679c\u548c\u9999\u8549(p\u00ednggu\u01d2 h\u00e9 xi\u0101ngji\u0101o)\u201d \u2013 \u201capples and bananas\u201d. But the interesting thing is even an intermediate above level learner will…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":6023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,176],"tags":[7,93],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-6021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-mandarin-online","category-usage","tag-grammar","tag-how-to-use","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"\nFor two adjectives:<\/h2>\n\n\n
For two sentences:<\/h2>\n\n\n