Some English words have several possible Mandarin translations. Learning when to use the correct word is one of the challenges for Mandarin students.

For example, the English can has at least three possible Mandarin translations: néng, keyi, and huì, which respectively mean “ability” “permission” and “skill”.

Another English word with multiple translations is “and”. You may think that “and” is “and” and there can be no possible variations on it, but read on and discover the nuances of this simple word.

Joining Nouns

In sentences which combine nouns or noun phrases, there are three ways to say and. All three of these connectors are interchangeable and commonly used. They are:

hé - ?
hàn - ?
gen - ?

Note that hé and hàn are the same character. The hàn pronunciation is most commonly heard in Taiwan.

Examples of Joining Nouns

He and I are colleagues.
Wo hàn ta shì tóngshì.
??????｡

Both pineapple and mango are good to eat.
Fènglí hé mángguo dou hen hao chi.
(trad) ?????????｡
(simp) ?????????｡

She and mom went for a walk.
Ta gen mama qù guàng jie.
(trad) ???????｡
(simp) ???????｡

This pair of shoes and that pair of shoes are the same price.
Zhè shuang xié gen nà shuang xié jiàqian yíyàng.
(trad) ???????????｡
(simp) ???????????｡

Joining Verbs

The Mandarin ye ? is used to join verbs or verb phrases. It translates as either “and” or “also”.

Examples of Ye to Join Verbs

I like to watch movies and listen to music.
Wo xihuan kàn diànying ye xihuan ting yinyuè.
(trad) ????????????｡
(simp) ????????????｡

He doesn’t like to go for walks and he doesn’t like to exercise.
Ta bù xihuan guàng jie ye bù xihuan yùndòng.
(trad) ????????????｡
(simp) ????????????｡

Furthermore

There are a few Mandarin words that can be translated as “and”, but which more accurately mean “furthermore” or “moreover”. They are sometimes used to show a cause and effect relationship between the two phrases.

Words which mean "and/furthermore" are:

ér qie - ??
bìng qie - ??
rán hòu - ??
yi hòu - ??

Examples of Furthermore

This is a very good movie and (moreover) the music is very nice.
Zhè bù diànying henhaokàn érqie yinyuè henhao ting.
(trad) ??????????????｡
(simp) ??????????????｡

This knapsack is very practical and (furthermore) the price is reasonable.
Zhègè fángshui beibao hen shíyòng bìngqie jiàgé héli.
(trad) ???????????????｡
(simp) ???????????????｡

We can first go have dinner and then see a movie.
Women xian qù chi wancan ránhòu zài qù kàn diànying.
(trad) ??????????????｡
(simp) ??????????????｡