Conjunctions In Mandarin Chinese (With Examples)

Mandarin Chinese conjunctions are the glue that holds two words, phrases, or sentences together.

Thankfully, they work pretty much the same way they do in English.

Learning to use conjunctions in Chinese will make your speech flow better. At times, they also help to provide more context about the message you’re trying to convey and the relationship between two sentences or phrases.

In the guide below, I’ll run you through some of the most common conjunctions used in Mandarin Chinese.

Conjunctions indicating addition

和 (Hé)

Meaning: And

This is used to connect two elements that share a parallel relationship.

For instance:

However, unlike English, 和 cannot be used to join two sentences or independent clauses together. It can only connect phrases, words, or dependent clauses.

Let’s take this as an example: “I enjoy playing basketball, and I like playing video games.” It is incorrect to use 和 to connect both these independent clauses (clauses that can stand alone as a sentence).

Instead, you can make the clauses dependent. For example, it will be correct to say 我喜欢打篮球和玩电子游戏。(Wǒ xǐhuān dǎ lánqiú hé wán diànzǐ yóuxì), which translates to “I enjoy playing basketball and playing video games.

跟 (Gēn)

Meaning: And

When used as a conjunction, 跟 (gēn) is used to express the meaning of “and.” In certain cases, it can be applied in the same way as 和 (hé), but it is typically used to describe an event or activity that involves two or more people or things.

For example:

Do note that 跟 and 和 can sometimes be replaced for the other, but they are not always interchangeable. 和 is used to connect nouns, while 跟 is used to connect two objects while describing a certain event.

Using one over the other may also sometimes alter the meaning of the sentence.

For example:

还有 (Hái yǒu)

Meaning: In addition to

还有 is used similarly to “in addition to” in English, which is in front of a new clause or sentence. It can also be used after a comma, just as you would in English.

For instance:

不但… 而且… (Bùdàn… érqiě)

Meaning: Not only… but also…

These two phrases can be used together to say “not only…, but also…” and can be used with one or two subjects in the sentence. If there are two subjects mentioned, 不但 needs to come before the first, and 而且 needs to come before the second. In this case, you’ll also need to include 也 (yě) in the second part of the sentence.

Here are some examples:

Conjunctions for choices

还是 (Háishì)

Meaning: Or

This phrase is used to present a choice to another person. The basic sentence structure would be Choice A + 还是 + Choice B. As you add subjects and verbs to that basic structure, you can create a range of different questions that offer choices to the person you’re speaking to,

For example:

或者 (Huòzhě)

Meaning: Or

In English, “or” can also be used in a sentence as well, not just a question. If you want to use “or” in a sentence in Chinese, you can do just that with 或者.

For instance:

要么… 要么… (Yàome… Yàome…)

Meaning: Either… or…

This phrase is used to offer choices as you would in English with “either” and “or.” It’s pretty versatile and can be used before nouns, places, adverbs, or verbs.

Here’s an example:

Conjunctions for contrast

但是 (Dànshì)

Meaning: But

This phrase can be used in the same way you would say “but” in English, which means that it usually comes before a contrary statement or clause. 但是 can be used interchangeably with 可是 (kěshì).

The only difference between both is that 但是 carries a more formal tone to it, while 可是 (kěshì) is usually more informal. However, using them interchangeably in a sentence is still grammatically correct.

不过 (búguò) can also be used to replace either of the above. However, it’s important to note that this phrase is even more informal and casual and has a weaker effect compared to 但是 and 可是.

Here are some examples of how to use these phrases:

虽然 (Suīrán)

Meaning: Although

虽然… 但是… is used to convey the meaning “although/despite/even though.” It’s used similarly to English.

Essentially, 虽然 goes before a clause, followed by 但是, which will come before the second part of the sentence and is used to show contrast. Again, you can interchange 但是 with 可是, and the sentence will still retain its original meaning.

You can also use 虽然 interchangeably with 尽管 (jǐnguǎn), which also conveys the meaning of “although” and “despite.”

For example:

然而 (Rán’ér)

Meaning: However / whereas / but

然而 can be used similarly to 但是 and 可是. But do take note that all these phrases can also be used to convey the meaning “whereas,” where a contrasting idea or outcome is represented in the second part of the sentence.

Take, for example, the following:

与其… 不如… (Yǔqí… Bùrú…)

Meaning: Rather than…, prefer…

These two phrases can be used together to show that you prefer the second option over the first. It essentially gives the other party a good idea about which one of the options you’d prefer.

Here’s an example:

Conjunctions representing outcomes

因为 (Yīnwèi)

Meaning: Because

因为 can be used similarly to how you would use “because” in English. It usually comes before the second part of the sentence and is used to present a reason or cause.

For example:

因为… 所以… (Yīnwèi… Suǒyǐ…)

Meaning: Because…, so…

所以 is used to indicate results. Thus, 因为 and 所以 can be used to explain cause and effect. This is how the basic structure usually looks like: 因为 (because) event A happened + 所以 (so) event B happened.

It might sound a little weird to use both “because” and “so” in the same sentence in English (since the “so” is usually omitted), but for Chinese, these two phrases complement each other nicely.

Let’s look at some examples:

既然 (Jìrán)

Meaning: Since

既然 will usually be paired with either 那 / 就 / 那就 (Nà/ jiù/ nà jiù) in a sentence. While it might not necessarily talk about a guaranteed, definitive outcome or result, these pairs can be used to express suggestions or inferences derived based on a fact.

The basic structures of such sentences typically look something like this:

• 既然 + Fact + 就 + Suggestion
• 既然 + Fact + 那就 + Suggestion
• 既然 + Fact + 那 + Inference

Here are some examples:

因此 (Yīncǐ)

Meaning: Therefore / thus

因此 (Yīncǐ) can be used in the same way as therefore in English. It usually sits after the cause in the sentence and comes before the outcome or result. It’s worthwhile to also note that 因此 is most often used formally.

Here’s how you can incorporate it into a sentence:

由于… 因此… (yóu yú… yīn cǐ…)

Meaning: Because…, so…

The combined usage of these two phrases is pretty straightforward as well. The basic structure will look something like this: 由于 (Because) + Event A happened + 因此 (so) + Event B happened.

For instance:

Conditional conjunctions

如果 (Rúguǒ)

Meaning: If

如果 can be used to express “if” in Chinese on its own. However, it can sometimes be paired with 就, which will appear before the second part of the sentence.

For example:

如果… 就… (Rú guǒ… jiù…)

Meaning: If… then…

These two phrases can be used pretty similarly to how you would use them in English. When using them together, the structure of the sentence usually looks like this: 如果 (if) + Event A + 就 (then) + Event B.

You can drop the 就 as well, as this is usually automatically understood.

For example:

只要… 就… (Zhǐyào… Jiù..)

Meaning: As long as…, then…

You can create a condition sentence by pairing 只要 with 就. It does give the other party an idea that your suggestion or solution is one reliable method of achieving the outcome.

Here’s an example:

只有… 才… (Zhǐyǒu… Cái…)

Meaning: Only if…, then…

This pair can be used in a sentence structure similar to the previous one. However, one major difference between both is that 只有… 才… is most commonly used to describe a solution or suggestion that is necessary and required in order for the outcome to be achieved.

On the other hand, 只要… 就… can be used to describe a solution or suggestion that might not be the only or necessary method of achieving the outcome but is one reliable way to do so.

Here’s an example:

除非 (Chúfēi)

Meaning: Unless

除非 can be used in the same manner as you would in English.

For instance:

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The above list offers a mix of both beginner-friendly and more complex conjunctions that are used in daily life.

It’s not necessary to learn how to use the more advanced ones at the start, especially since the sentence structure and ordering of these conjunctions can be different from English.

Start with the more simple and widely used ones, like 和, 跟, 但是, and 因为.

Once you’ve mastered these, you can move on to learning conjunctions that come in pairs.

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