Expressing "on the basis of" with "ping"

凭 (píng) is a preposition that means "on the basis of" or "by virtue of." Usually the subject of a sentence which makes use of 凭 is a person.

Structures using 凭

凭 with a Noun

凭 can be followed up with a noun or noun phrase. The nouns can be something concrete like a passport, diploma, or official ID, or they can be something abstract like experience, efforts, intuition, etc.

凭 + Noun / Noun Phrase ……

Examples

• 凭 护照， 外国 人 可以 买 火车 票。Píng hùzhào, wàiguó rén kěyǐ mǎi huǒchē piào.Using a passport, foreigners can buy train tickets.
• 他 凭 自己 的 努力 学 了 三千 多 个 汉字。Tā píng zìjǐ de nǔlì xué le sān qiān duō gè hànzì.He studied more than three thousand Chinese characters through his own efforts.
• 我们 凭 学生证 在 电影院 享受 折扣 优待。Wǒmen píng xuéshēng zhèng zài diànyǐngyuàn xiǎngshòu zhékòu yōudài.With our student ID cards, we enjoy a special discount at the movie theater.

凭 with a Verb Phrase

凭 can also be used with a verb phrase or subject-predicate phrase as follows:

凭 + Verb Phrase ……

Examples

• 凭 我 学 中文 的 时间 比 你 短 但是 说 得 比 你 好，我 就 可以 说 我 比 你 聪明。Píng wǒ xué Zhōngwén de shíjiān bǐ nǐ duǎn dànshì shuō de bǐ nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiù kěyǐ shuō wǒ bǐ nǐ cōngming.From the fact that I have studied Chinese for a shorter time but speak it better than you, I can say that I'm smarter than you.
• 凭 老 李 在 这 一 行 做 了 二十 年，他 就 有 资格 做 你 的 师傅。Píng Lǎo Lǐ zài zhè yī háng zuò le èrshí nián, tā jiù yǒu zīgé zuò nǐ de shīfu.On the basis of Lao Li's twenty years of experience in this industry, he is qualified to be your teacher.
• 怪不得 那 个 孩子 的 数学 不 好，他 只 凭 计算器 算。Guàibùdé nàge háizi de shùxué bù hǎo, tā zhǐ píng jìsuàn qì suàn.No wonder that kid's math is so bad. It's because he always uses a calculator to do the math.
• 学好 跳舞 不 能 只 凭 看 迈克尔·杰克逊 的 视频， 还 得 凭 自己 的 努力。Xuéhǎo tiàowǔ bù néng zhǐ píng kàn Màikè'ěr·Jiékèxùn de shìpín, hái děi píng zìjǐ de nǔlì.Watching Michael Jackson's videos isn't enough to learn how to dance. You also have to rely on your own efforts.

凭 with 什么

This is one of the most common ways to use 凭, especially in spoken Chinese. It often has a feeling of dissatisfaction or anger, perhaps said during an argument. It is like saying, "On what basis do you ...!?!?" Usually it is paired with blaming, scolding, attacks, etc.

Subj. + 凭什么 + Verb Phrase …… ？！

Examples

• 你 凭什么 怪 我！Nǐ píng shénme guài wǒ!On what grounds are you blaming me?
• 我 没有 做 错，他 凭什么 骂 我？Wǒ méiyǒu zuò cuò, tā píng shénme mà wǒ?I haven't done anything wrong. What is he yelling at me for?
• 她 一直 很忠诚， 你 凭什么 怀疑 她？ Tā yīzhí hěn zhōngchéng, nǐ píng shénme huáiyí tā?She's always been honest. On what basis are you suspicious of her?

Structure with 凭着

You can also add 着 to 凭 to make it 凭着, however when you do so you can only use it if the action has already been completed. If the action occurs habitually or has not happened yet, you cannot use 凭着. The structure is the same as using 凭 by itself.

凭着 + Noun / Noun Phrase ……

Examples

• 小白 凭着 自己 的 努力 致富 。Xiǎo Bái píngzhe zìjǐ de nǔlì zhìfù.On the basis of his own hard work, Xiao Bai was able to become rich.
• 他 凭着 智慧 战胜 了 很 多 的 困难。Tā píngzhe zhìhuì zhànshèng le hěn duō de kùnnan.Using his intellect, he was able to overcome many difficulties.

See also

• Limiting Scope with "jiu"
• "Along with…" Using "suizhe"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (pp. 227-228) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

HSK5