Tag: Chinese Grammar

This article is a stub. Editors can help the Chinese Grammar Wiki by expanding it. If you are trying to explain what you did after a certain event, you might want to use "以后" (yǐhòu) or "之后" (zhīhòu). After all, they do both mean "after", right? Well, it turns out that there are a few rules that you need to be aware of before you use them.

While both 以后 (yǐhòu) and 后来 (hòulái) can mean "after," they have distinct uses.

When talking about when something happens, "以后" (yǐhòu) and "的时候" (de shíhou) are often used. They can both be translated as "when", but their meanings are different, so they can't be used in situations you might expect them to be used in. Take a look at this article if you want to figure it out!

One of the most often confused words are 后来 (hòulái) and 然后 (ránhòu). They are similar on the surface, meaning something like "and then," but their usage is fairly different.

刚 (gāng) and 刚才 (gāngcái) are similar, but they have somewhat different uses. Both Come Before the Verb, But Have Different Emphasis

对 (duì) and 对于 (duìyú) maybe be confused by Chinese learners as they advance into more complex grammar. This article will help in distinguishing the the two!

When describing spatial relationships, the words 之间 (zhījiān) and 中间 (zhōngjiān) will come in handy to express the concepts of "between" and "among." Both have a few particular uses, though.

When describing others, we can use the word 人家 (rénjia) or 别人 (biéren). But 人家 also has other grammatical uses, which we will explore in this article.