Comparing "bangmang" and "bangzhu"

帮忙 (bāngmáng) and 帮助 (bāngzhù) are both verbs that mean "to help" and can sometimes be used interchangeably. 帮忙 is used in informal settings, whereas 帮助 is used in both informal and formal contexts. Only 帮忙 is used in the sense of lending a hand or doing a favor, and is composed of the verb 帮 plus the object 忙 (this is called a separable verb). A final difference is only 帮助 can be followed by an object (usually a person or pronoun) or used as a noun.

B1HSK3ASV4567

	帮忙 (bāngmáng)	帮助 (bāngzhù)
Meaning	to lend a hand, to do a favor	to help; help
Part of Speech	verb	verb, noun
Formality	informal	flexible

:Yes

帮忙 (bāngmáng) is used informally to mean "help out"

帮忙 is informal and is used frequently in spoken Mandarin to request or offer some assistance. Because 帮忙 is a separable verb, the 帮 part is the verb and the 忙 part is a noun (meaning something like "a favor"). Since separable verbs can be separated, you're going to see all kinds of variations and patterns using 帮忙.

Common Phrases

• 帮帮忙 bāngbangmánghelp out
• 帮 个 忙 bāng gè mánghelp out
• 帮 不了 忙 bāng bùliǎo mángcan't help out
• 帮 不 帮忙 bāng bù bāngmánghelp out or not
• 帮 过 忙 bāng guo mánghelped out before

帮助 is NOT a separable verb, so it cannot be used in similar patterns.

Example Sentences

• 请 你 帮帮 忙！这次 就 不 要 罚款 了。Qǐng nǐ bāngbangmáng! zhècì jiù bù yào fákuǎn le.Please help! No fines this time.
• 别 玩 了，过来 帮帮 忙 吧。Bié wán le, guòlái bāngbang máng ba.Stop playing and come over here to help out.
• 你 现在 有 时间 吗？我 想 请 你 帮 个 忙。Nǐ xiànzài yǒu shíjiān ma? wǒ xiǎng qǐng nǐ bāng gè máng.Do you have a moment now? I'd like to ask you a favour.
• 他 是 一 个 热心 人，他 帮 过 很 多 人 的 忙。Tā shì yī gè rèxīn rén, tā bāng guo hěn duō rén de máng.He is a warm-hearted man who has helped many people.
• 不好意思，这次 我 帮 不了 你 的 忙。Bùhǎoyìsi, zhècì wǒ bāng bùle nǐ de máng.Sorry, I can't help you out this time.
• 我们 的 人 已经 够 了，明天 不 需要 你 来 帮忙 了。Wǒmen de rén yǐjīng gòu le, míngtiān bù xūyào nǐ lái bāngmáng le.We've got enough people. We don't need your help tomorrow.
• 我 想 找 他 帮忙，但是 我 不 好意思 说。Wǒ xiǎng zhǎo tā bāngmáng, dànshì wǒ bù hǎoyìsi shuō.I wanted to ask him for help, but I was too embarrassed to say so.
• 他 平时 工作 很 忙，家里 的 事 他 从不 帮忙。Tā píngshí gōngzuò hěn máng, jiālǐ de shì tā cóngbù bāngmáng.He's usually very busy at work and he never helps out with housework.
• 非常 感谢，你 这次 帮 了 我 一 个 大 忙。Fēicháng gǎnxiè, nǐ zhècì bāng le wǒ yī gè dà máng .Thank you so much. You've done me a huge favor this time.
• 大家 听 完 他 说 的 话 以后 都 表示 要 帮忙。Dàjiā tīng wán tā shuō de huà yǐhòu dōu biǎoshì yào bāngmáng.Everyone offered to help out after hearing what he had to say.

帮助 (bāngzhù) is a verb and can be followed by an object

帮忙 cannot be followed by an object, since 忙 is already the object of 帮. Unlike 帮忙, 帮助 allows you to put an object (such as a person) directly after it.

Example Sentences

• 你 能 来 帮助 我们 就 好 了。Nǐ néng lái bāngzhù wǒmen jiù hǎo le.It would be great if you could come and help us.
• 帮助 别人 就是 帮助 你 自己 。Bāngzhù biérén jiùshì bāngzhù nǐ zìjǐ.Helping others is helping yourself.
• 我 知道 你 是 一 个 喜欢 帮助 别人 的 人。Wǒ zhīdào nǐ shì yī gè xǐhuan bāngzhù biérén de rén.I know you are a person who likes to help others.
• 我 希望 你 可以 帮助 我 学习 中文。Wǒ xīwàng nǐ kěyǐ bāngzhù wǒ xuéxí Zhōngwén.I hope you can help me learn Chinese.
• 谢谢 你 今天 帮助 我 解决 了 这些 问题。Xièxie nǐ jīntiān bāngzhù wǒ jiějué le zhèxiē wèntí.Thank you for helping me with this today.
• 帮助 别人 会 让 你 变得 更 快乐。Bāngzhù biérén huì ràng nǐ biànde gèng kuàilè.You will become happier by helping others.
• 这本 书 让 我 懂得 了 你 帮助 别人，别人 也 会 帮助 你。Zhèběn shū ràng wǒ dǒngde le nǐ bāngzhù biérén, biérén yě huì bāngzhù nǐ.This book has taught me that if you help others, they will help you too.
• 我 永远 不 会 忘记 帮助 过 我 的 人。Wǒ yǒngyuǎn bù huì wàngjì bāngzhù guo wǒ de rén.I will never forget the people who have helped me.
• 只要 你们 有 需要，我们 会 尽力 帮助 你们。Zhǐyào nǐmen yǒu xūyào, wǒmen huì jìnlì bāngzhù nǐmen.We will try to help you whenever you are in need.
• 在 你 遇到 困难 的 时候 愿意 帮助 你 的 朋友 才 是 真正 的 朋友。Zài nǐ yùdào kùnnan de shíhou yuànyì bāngzhù nǐ de péngyou cái shì zhēnzhèng de péngyou.A friend who is willing to help you when you are in trouble is a true friend.

帮助 (bāngzhù) is also a noun

If you want to say something like "thank you for your help," then you need to use a noun. 帮助 can fill this role.

Example Sentences

• 谢谢 你 的 帮助 。Xièxie nǐ de bāngzhù.Thank you for your help.
• 在 大家 的 帮助 下，我 按时 完成 了 这个 任务。Zài dàjiā de bāngzhù xià, wǒ ànshí wánchéng le zhège rènwu.With everyone's help I was able to finish this on time.
• 如果 没有 你 的 帮助 ，我 可能 会 迟到。Rúguǒ méiyǒu nǐ de bāngzhù , wǒ kěnéng huì chídào.Without your help, I would have been late.
• 今天 的 中文 课 对 我 的 帮助 很 大。Zài dàjiā de bāngzhù xià, wǒ ànshí wánchéng le zhège rènwu.The Chinese lesson today helped me a lot.
• 我 非常 感激 你 的 批评 和 帮助。Wǒ fēicháng gǎnjī nǐ de pīpíng hé bāngzhù.I am very grateful for your criticism and help.
• 你们 比 我们 更 需要 帮助 。Nǐmen bǐ wǒmen gèng xūyào bāngzhù .You need help more than we do.
• 我 刚刚 来 中国，在 生活 上 你们 可以 提供 哪些 帮助 ？Wǒ gānggāng lái Zhōngguó, zài shēnghuó shàng nǐmen kěyǐ tígōng nǎxiē bāngzhù ?I have just arrived in China, what help can you provide in terms of living?
• 你 这样 做 对 我 一点 帮助 也 没有。Nǐ zhèyàng zuò duì wǒ yīdiǎn bāngzhù yě méiyǒu.You're not helping me at all by doing this.
• 当 你 需要 帮助 的 时候，请 记得 给 我 打 电话。Dāng nǐ xūyào bāngzhù de shíhou, qǐng jìde gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà.When you need help, please remember to call me.
• 在 你 的 老家 有没有 需要 帮助 的 朋友？Zài nǐ de lǎojiā yǒuméiyǒu xūyào bāngzhù de péngyou?Do you have any friends in your hometown who need help?

Sources and further reading

AllSet Learning Wikis

• Separable verb (Chinese Grammar Wiki)

Websites

• "帮助" 和 "帮忙" 和有什么不一样?