Expressing "and" with "he"

Whenever you need to list nouns, whether two of them or more, 和 (hé) is there to help you out. Just remember that 和 (hé) isn't a word you can use to translate just any usage of the English word and.

Structure

The most common way to express "and" in Chinese is with 和 (hé). It's important to note that 和 (hé) is mainly used to link nouns. This is how you should use it exclusively as you get used to it. Don't try to link verbs (or whole sentences) with 和 (hé).

Noun 1 + 和 + Noun 2

Just to be absolutely clear what we mean by this, here are two English examples of what you should and shouldn't try to express with 和 (hé):

• I went to the store and bought some gum.(Don't use 和 (hé) for this "and"! "Went to the store" and "bought some gum" are both verb phrases, not nouns.)
• I like to eat cucumbers and cheese.(This one is good! "Cucumbers" and "cheese" are both nouns, so you can use 和 (hé) here.)

Examples

• 我 和他 都 不 去。Wǒ hé tā dōu bù qù.Neither he nor I will go.
• 老板 喜欢 咖啡 和 茶。Lǎobǎn xǐhuan kāfēi hé chá.Boss likes both coffee and tea.
• 我 的 爷爷 和 奶奶 都 是 70 岁。Wǒ de yéye hé nǎinai dōu shì qīshí suì.My grandpa and grandma are both 70 years old.
• 他 和 他 女朋友 都 喜欢 中国 菜。Tā hé tā nǚ péngyou dōu xǐhuan Zhōngguó cài.His girlfriend and he both like Chinese food.
• 你 爸爸 和 你 妈妈 都 是 美国 人 吗？Nǐ bàba hé nǐ māma dōu shì Měiguó rén ma?Are your father and your mother both Americans?
• 去年 和 今年 你们 都 在 纽约 吗？Qùnián hé jīnnián nǐmen dōu zài Niǔyuē ma?Were you in New York both last year and this year?
• 苹果 手机 和 苹果 电脑 都 很 贵。Píngguǒ shǒujī hé Píngguǒ diànnǎo dōu hěn guì.The Apple smartphone and the Apple computer are both expensive.
• 蔬菜 和 肉 我 都 喜欢 吃 。Shūcài hé ròu wǒ dōu xǐhuan chī.I like to eat both vegetables and meat.
• 英语 和 法语你 都 会 说 吗？ Yīngyǔ hé Fǎyǔ nǐ dōu huì shuō ma?Can you speak both English and French?
• 今天 和 明天他们 都 在 这里 吗？ Jīntiān hé míngtiān tāmen dōu zài zhèlǐ ma?Are they here both today and tomorrow?

See also

• Expressing "in addition" with "haiyou"
• "In addition" as "lingwai"
• Expressing "not only… but also"
• Combining verbs with "bing"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 74-5) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 14-5) →buy
• A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (p. 126) →buy