3 uses of Chinese character “和”

Whenever you need to list nouns, whether two of them or more, 和 (hé) is there to help you out.

当你需要列出一些名词的时候，不管两个或者更多，“和”这个字都可以帮到你。

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).

中文里表达“and”最常见的方式是用上“和”。需要重点注意的是，“和”大多用于连接名词，习惯之后这也是你只能这样使用它的唯一方式。千万不要用“和”去连接动词或完整的句子。

Noun 1 + 和 + Noun 2

Here are two English examples of what you should and shouldn't try to express with 和 (hé):

这里有两个英文例子，阐明应该怎样用“和”去表达以及不合理的用法：

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.)

我去商店买了些口香糖。（不要把“和”看作是这里的“and”，“went to store”和“bought some gum”都是动词词组，不是名词。）

I like to eat cucumbers and cheese. (This one is good! "Cucumbers" and "cheese" are both nouns, so you can use 和 (hé) here.)

我喜欢吃黄瓜和奶酪。（这句表达很棒！“cucumbers”和“cheese”都是名词，所以这里你可以使用“和”。）

Examples

我 和他 都 不 去。

wǒ hé tā dōu bù qù.

Neither he nor I will go.

老板 喜欢 咖啡 和 茶。

lǎobǎn xǐhuan kāfēi hé chá.

Boss likes both coffee and tea.

他 和 他 女朋友 都 喜欢 中国 菜。

tā hé tā nǚ péngyou dōu xǐhuan Zhōngguó cài.

His girlfriend and he both like Chinese food.

去年 和 今年 你们 都 在 纽约 吗？

qùnián hé jīnnián nǐmen dōu zài niǔyuē ma?

Were you in New York both last year and this year?

蔬菜 和 肉 我 都 喜欢 吃 。

shūcài hé ròu wǒ dōu xǐhuan chī.

I like to eat both vegetables and meat.

英语 和 法语你 都 会 说 吗？

yīngyǔ hé fǎyǔ nǐ dōu huì shuō ma?

Can you speak both English and French?

You could do just fine only using 和 to connect nouns and noun phrases, and native speakers may prefer not to use 和 in some of the examples sentences given below.

你可以只用“和”连接名词和名词短语，不过中国本地人比较倾向于在以下例子中不使用“和”字。

Verb1 + 和 + Verb2

In most cases, the following trends apply when 和 is used to connect verbs:

大多数情况下，以下的普遍趋势适用于“和”连接动词的情况：

The two verbs are very similar in nature. This could include characteristics such as level of structure and scope. Thus "唱歌和跳舞" is natural (both are separable verbs, equally informal, frequently used together), whereas "玩游戏和跑" (the structure of the two is very different) is quite awkward.

两个动词本质上非常相似的情况。这包括了如相同结构和范围的字词。因此，“唱歌和跳舞”是比较自然的（两者都是可独立的动词，一样非正式，经常一起使用），而“玩游戏和跑”（两者的结构非常不同）听上去就有点别扭。

Both verbs share the same object (e.g. "管理和运营着家公司") or are both modified by the same adverbial phrase (e.g. "进一步地了解和交流").

两个动词都用于同一个宾语（如“管理和运营着家公司”）或两者都被同一个副词修饰的情况（如“进一步地了解和交流”）。

Adj1 + 和 + Adj2

In most cases, at least one of the following trends apply when 和 is used to connect adjectives:

大多数情况下，“和”在以下至少有一种情况可用于连接形容词：

The two adjectives do not act as the predicate of the sentence, but instead act as an attributive (coming before a noun), object (coming after a verb), or other sentence element.

两个形容词都不是作为句子的谓语，而是作为定语（跟在名词之后的）、宾语（跟在动词之后的）或其他句子成分的情况。

我 就是 喜欢 她 任性 和 调皮，怎么了？

wǒ jiù shì xǐ huān tā rèn xìng hé tiáo pí, zěn me le?

I just simply like her wilful and naughty, so what?

她 安静 和 甜美 的笑容让我觉得温暖。

tā ān jìng hé tián měi de xiào róng ràng wǒ jué dé wēn nuǎn.

Her peaceful and sweet smile make me feel warm.