Comparing "bangmang" and "bangzhu"
帮忙 (bāngmáng) and 帮助 (bāngzhù) both are 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.
| 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 |
Contents
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.
帮帮忙 帮个忙 帮不了忙 帮不帮忙 帮过忙
帮助 is not a separable verb.
帮助 (bāngzhù) is a verb and can be followed by an object
帮助他
帮忙 cannot be followed by an object, since 忙 is already the object of 帮.
