Expressing "more and more" with "yuelaiyue"

"越 ... 越..." (yuè... yuè...) is used frequently in Chinese to express that some quality or state is increasing with time, or in tune with another factor. There are two forms of this pattern, the "simple" one (using 来), and the more complex one (which uses two different adjectives/verbs).

Simple: 越来越 + Adjective

This structure expresses that something is becoming more and more adjective over time, with the latter adjective changing with the verb. The most common structure is:

Subject + 越来 + 越 + Adjective

Here are some examples:

• 汽油 越 来 越 贵。 Gasoline is getting more and more expensive.
• 美国 的 音乐 越 来 越 流行。American music is getting more and more fashionable.
• 她 的 数学 成绩 越 来 越 好。Her math grade is getting better and better.

Complex: 越 + Adjective/Verb + 越 + Adjective/Verb

This structure can be expanded further by replacing 来 with another verb. This expresses that one change causes another change. (The examples make it clear how this works.)

Subject + 越 + Verb Phrase + 越 + Adjective

Here are some examples of this structure:

• 他 越 喝 可乐 越 胖。
• 她 越 说 越 生气。
• 啊，我 越 忙 越 不耐烦。

See also

• "Along with…" Using "suizhe"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (pp. 295) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 288-9) →buy
• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 238-9) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 185) →buy