Expressing "while you're at it" with "shunbian"

Although sometimes translated as "in passing" or even "conveniently," the most common way that the idea of adverb 顺便 (shùnbiàn) is expressed in English is "while you're at it" (or "while I'm at it," etc.). It's the idea of doing something at a convenient and logical time to save effort. Now you just have to get used to expressing this concept as an adverb.

General use of 顺便

Structure

Subj. + Verb Phrase 1, 顺便 + Verb Phrase 2

Examples

• 你 去 买 早饭 的 时候 顺便 帮 我 带 杯 咖啡 吧。Nǐ qù mǎi zǎofàn de shíhou shùnbiàn bāng wǒ dài bēi kāfēi ba.When you go out to get breakfast can you also bring me a cup of coffee?
• 你 去 超市 能 不 能 顺便 帮 我 买 一 瓶 牛奶？Nǐ qù chāoshì néng bu néng shùnbiàn bāng wǒ mǎi yī píng niúnǎi?Could you pick me up a bottle of milk while you're at the supermarket?
• 老板 去 见 客户，顺便 吃 了 午饭。Lǎobǎn qù jiàn kèhù, shùnbiàn chī le wǔfàn.The boss went to see the client and also ate lunch while he was at it.
• 我 下周 去 北京 出差，顺便 去 看 一 个 朋友。Wǒ xià zhōu qù Běijīng chūchāi, shùnbiàn qù kàn yī gè péngyou.I'm going to Beijing on a business trip next week. I'll go to visit a friend while I'm there.
• 我 出门 的 时候 都 会 顺便 扔 垃圾。Wǒ chūmén de shíhou dōu huì shùnbiàn rēng lājī.I take the trash out as I leave the house.
• 你 见 他 的 时候 顺便 问 一下 他 周末 来 不 来。Nǐ jiàn tā de shíhou shùnbiàn wèn yīxià tā zhōumò lái bu lái.Ask him if he's coming this weekend when you see him.

Colloquial usage of 顺便

Here 顺便 means by the way.

Common phrases

顺便说一下

顺便问一下

Examples

• 顺便 说 一下，我 最近 搬家 了。Shùnbiàn shuō yīxià, wǒ zuìjìn bānjiā le.By the way, I moved recently.
• 顺便 问 一下，你 下周 什么 时候 回来？Shùnbiàn wèn yīxià, nǐ xià zhōu shénme shíhou huílái?By the way, when next week are you coming back?
• 顺便 说 一下，电脑 已经 修 好 了。Shùnbiàn shuō yīxià, diànnǎo yǐjīng xiū hǎo le.By the way, the computer's been fixed.
• 顺便 打听 一下，你 觉得 小王 这 个 人 怎么样？Shùnbiàn dǎtīng yīxià, nǐ juéde Xiǎo Wáng zhège rén zěnmeyàng?By the way, I just wanted to ask you: what do you think of Xiao Wang?

Sources and further reading

Books

Dictionaries

HSK5