I'm currently taking a Chinese class with native speakers, and one criticism I've gotten a lot on my writing is that I use “和” way too much. I understand that Americans say "and" more than would be culturally appropriate in China, but my teacher has recommended I take out all ands, including in lists (eg. 这家餐馆有水饺、米饭，面条 --> 这家有餐馆水饺、米饭、面条。). It sounds strange to me not to use "and" at al, but again, not a native speaker. Should I just use something like 而且 instead and avoid 和，or just try as hard as I can never to use "and", even in lists? Or do Chinese people use "和“ more than my teacher seems to indicate? Also, is there a difference between writing and speaking in the matter?

EDIT: feel free to add a Chinese translation! I wasn't sure on quite a few words and phrases and figured it'd be better to call in some outside help on this one.

  • 1
    All the European languages I know a bit about have one multifunction word like "and" that does many jobs, just like in English. But for Asian languages, at least Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, there is not one multifunction word but several different ways to achieve something like English "and" which depend on its actual function. This is something tricky for Europeans learning Asian languages that simply must be learned. Apr 13 '19 at 16:54

11 Answers 11


This is from my personal understanding only!

"And" in English may be used to join words, phrases and sentences, but "和" in Chinese should be used only to join words to be used for listing.

"而且" is used to join sentences, similar concepts together for reinforcement.

Here are sentences specifically made for "和":

  • 我今天和明天都可以。 I am available on today and tomorrow.
  • 我可以跑步和游泳。 I can run and swim.

and for "而且":

  • 我今天可以，而且我明天也可以。 I am available on today, and I am also available on tomorrow.
  • 我可以跑步，而且我也可以游泳。I can run, and I can also swim.

Of course, when you write, make the sentences concise. But when you are speaking, and would like to add additional information on the spot, make sure not to use the wrong word.

A few more examples that use neither "和" nor "而且". Because the sentences are not similar concepts to be reinforced.

  • I went to the supermarket to buy drinks, and met Li.


  • He said a joke and I could not hold the laughter.


  • He pulled me aside, and told me a story.



和 comes from old verb "to mix two things into one". From "to mix" 和 developed meaning "with" and "and". But the old meaning still lingers there, that's why 和 can't be used in some situations.


works like charm cause you literally can "mix" coffe and tee.


the same here. but


-- not good. WHat are you "mixing"? "market" and "buying"? Noun and verb?


  1. 且 means 'further'. It was used as a future tense marker in old Chinese, just like 'will' is used in English.
  2. 而 is a subordinate conjunction. That is, it serves functions of 'but, and, where, who, when ect.' thus subordinating one sentence clause to the other. But how one should translate 而 is unknown (to me at least), it's quite volatile in it's meaning.
  3. 而且 means "further than this", 'but more' or 'even more'.

So 而且(even more) and 和 (to mix) are quite different in their meaning.


The , before 和 can be removed, it looks more natural for native 这家餐馆有水饺，米饭和面条

you can use 及 to replace 和


I think, as a Chinese myself, I tend to use 还有，跟，还是more when speaking


Strange question! Of course Chinese people use 和。Just not in all the places you might use 'and' in English.

I can't see anything wrong with your sentence. 这家餐馆有水饺、米饭和面条。

In a list you should use the 顿号，this fella: “、”

2加2等于4 2 and 2 are 4

better and better 越来越好

I'm tall and thin, he's short and fat. 我又高又瘦，他又矮又胖。

  • Hi, can you show any case where 'noun+和+noun' is a mistake? Would appreciate greatly. Thanks.
    – coobit
    Apr 9 '19 at 22:28
  • If you just think about 2 Chinese nouns, I would say you can always use 和 to link them. However, you cannot take 2 nouns in isolation. Going from English to Chinese, you must consider the context, the meaning and how to render that in Chinese. Consider this: He serves the public heart and soul and is loved and supported by everyone. 他一心公，深得大家的爱戴。Not a '和‘ in sight, not even from 'heart and soul', because that is '一心’!
    – Pedroski
    Apr 9 '19 at 23:52

"这家餐馆有水饺，米饭和面条" sounds much more natural to me.

As you mentioned "而且"， it's not identical to "和".
"而且" is used to connect sentences, usually in pair with "不仅"：


I personally use "还" more frequently than "而且" in this case：


That sounds better to me.


This is from an announcement of the state council.




Notice in the first line when listing the receivers, there is no 和 at the end. But in the second line when listing the holidays, there is 和 connecting the last two.

So both are perfectly fine and feel free to use whatever you are happy with. Of course if you are writing long essays, you might want to have more variations in the style.


If you are confused, just remember '和' is basically the same with 'and'. You won't say “我喜歡蛋糕和餅乾和巧克力和糖果” as you won't say "I like cakes and biscuits and chocolates and candies". You should put the '和' between the second last item and last item, such as “我喜歡蛋糕、餅乾、巧克力和糖果” ("I like cakes, biscuits, chocolate and candies")


以及 is a word which can pretty much be used the same way as "and" in English. However, it is a rather formal word, not often used in conversation. Its connotations are similar to that of "as well as".

Generally, if you structure it right, 和 can almost always be eliminated. For example, in noun phrases, you can use 跟, which usually sounds closer to native speaker usage.

  • Please answer the OP's question.
    – zyy
    Apr 20 '19 at 23:31

老板喜欢咖啡和茶 wont confuse the reader, since when 和means mix, it will be mixing water and some powder-like things to get soft/semi-solid mixture: 和面、和稀泥 and is pronounced huo2/huo4 rather than he2

And, if the boss do likes mixed coffee and tea, it will goes like: 老板喜欢加了咖啡的茶


When people try to express a list, both 水饺、米饭，和面条 and 水饺、米饭、面条 are acceptable. Use is better but without it is also acceptable when list length is larger than 2.

In other words, "这家餐馆有水饺、米饭" is a quite strange expression. People usually say "这家餐馆有水饺和米饭"

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