Expressing simultaneous actions with "yimian"

一面 (yìmiàn) is a more formal than 一边, but is used in the same way to express two simultaneous actions. It is used in the following way:

Structure

一面 + Verb + 一面 + Verb

Examples

• 他 喜欢 一面 吃 东西 ， 一面 看 电影 。Tā xǐhuān yīmiàn chī dōngxī, yīmiàn kàn diànyǐng.He likes to eat and watch movies at the same time.
• 我 告诉 你 多少 次 了，别 一面 躺 在 床上 一面 吃 零食！弄得 床上 都 是 碎屑!Wǒ gàosù nǐ duōshǎo cì le, bié yīmiàn tǎng zài chuángshàng yīmiàn chī língshí! Nòng dé chuángshàng dōu shì suì xiè!I told you so many times, don't eat while laying on the bed. The "clean" bed now has crumbs all over it!
• 他们 一 家人 一面 赏月 一面 吃 月饼。Tāmen yījiā rén yīmiàn shǎng yuè yīmiàn chī yuèbǐng.They enjoy the moon and eat moon cakes together as a family.
• 你 会 一面 拍头 一面 揉 肚子 吗？Nǐ huì yīmiàn pāi tóu yīmiàn róu dùzi ma?Can you pat your head and rub your belly at the same time?

一面 cannot be shortened in the way while 一边 can:

• 我 面 工作 面 学习。
• 我 边 工作 边 学习。I work and study at the same time.

一面 can also be used to express two aspects of a situation, which are not necessarily being enacted simultaneously. This is the same as the structure: "一方面...一方面..." or the English "on the one hand...one the other hand"

• 政府 一面 要 控制 通货膨胀， 一面 也 要 保证 一定 的 经济 增长 速度。Zhèngfǔ yīmiàn yào kòngzhì tōnghuò péngzhàng, yīmiàn yě yào bǎozhèng yīdìng de jīngjì zēngzhǎng sùdù.On one hand, the government is going to control inflation, but on the other hand, it's definitely going to protect economic growth.

See also

• Simultaneous tasks with "yibian"
• "Along with…" using "suizhe"
• Expressing various aspects with "yi fangmian"

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. 323-5 ) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

HSK5