Comparing "bian" and "ci"

Both 遍 (biàn) and 次 (cì) mean how many “times” an action is done.

Sometimes 遍 (biàn) and 次 (cì) can be used interchangeably, each with slightly different meaning.

	遍 (biàn)	次 (cì)
Meaning	doing an action from beginning to end	number of times an action occurs
Part of Speech	measure word	measure word
Formality	formal and informal	formal and informal

The key difference between these words is 遍 means doing an action all the way from the beginning to the end, whereas 次 means the total number of times an action occurs.

Similarities

Common Phrases

These phrases work with both 遍 and 次, although the meaning is slightly different.

• 看 过 很多 遍 kàn guò hěn duō biàn watched many times from beginning to end
• 看 过 很多 次 kàn guò hěn duō cì watched many times

Example Sentences

In the following sentences, both 遍 and 次 can be used interchangeably:

• 我看过三遍这个电影。
• 我看过三次这个电影。

Differences

Common Phrases

These phrases only work with 遍：

• 再 说 一 遍 zài shuō yī biàn say again from beginning to end

• 再 听 一 遍 zài tīng yī biàn listen again from beginning to end

Example Sentences

In the following sentences, only 遍 can be used:

• 你可以再说一遍吗？
• 我很喜欢这本书，我看了五遍。
• 这个歌我每天都听一遍。
• 请写十遍这个汉字。
• 我和你说了两遍，你不可能不知道。

Common Phrases

These phrases work only with 次：

• 去一 次 qù yī cì go one time

• 去过多 次 qù guò cì went many times

• 参观了一 次 cānguān le yī cì visited one time

Example Sentences

In the following sentences, only 次 can be used:

• 我去过三次上海。
• 我玩过一次这个游戏。
• 我想再去一次云南。
• 我们认识，我们在上海见过很多次。
• 我很喜欢红烧肉，我已经吃过很多次了。