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

• 你 和 我。Nǐ hé wǒ.You and I.
• 他 和 我 都 不 喝 红酒。Tā hé wǒ dōu bù hē hóngjiǔ.None of us (both he and I don't) drink red wine.
• 我 喜欢 可乐 和 茶。Wǒ xǐhuān kělè hé chá.I like cola and tea.
• 我 和 他 一起 工作。Wǒ hé tā yīqǐ gōngzuò.He and I work together.
• 我 的 爸爸 和 妈妈 都 是 70 岁。Wǒ de bàba hé māmā dōu shì qīshí suì.My dad and mom are both 70 years old.
• 我 的 朋友 和 我 都 喜欢 中国 菜。Wǒ de péngyou hé wǒ dōu xǐhuān Zhōngguó cài.My friend and I both like Chinese food.
• 他 和 她 都 是 美国 人。Tā hé tā dōu shì Měiguó rén.He and she (they) are both Americans.
• 去年 和 今年 我 都 在 纽约。Qùnián hé jīnnián wǒ dōu zài Niǔyuē.I was 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.
• 水果 和 肉 我 都 喜欢 吃 。Shuǐguǒ hé ròu wǒ dōu xǐhuān chī.I like to eat both fruit and meat.
• 我 的 英语 和 汉语 都 很 好。Wǒ de Yīngyǔ hé Hànyǔ dōu hěn hǎo.My English and Chinese are both good.

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