p8nda
p8nda BETA
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而

ér
conjunction HSK 4 #112

Meanings

  1. 1 and; but; yet
  2. 2 while; whereas
  3. 3 (connecting modifier to verb)

Characters

而
ér
and; but; yet; while
Originally a pictograph of a beard — now purely a grammatical connector with no trace of its original meaning.

Examples

他很聪明而且很努力。
Tā hěn cōngmíng érqiě hěn nǔlì.
He is smart and hardworking.
我想去，而他不想去。
Wǒ xiǎng qù, ér tā bù xiǎng qù.
I want to go, but he doesn't.
因困难而放弃是不对的。
Yīn kùnnan ér fàngqì shì bú duì de.
Giving up because of difficulty is wrong.

Tips

grammar
而 is a literary conjunction. In the pattern 因A而B, it means 'because of A, B happens.' In A而B with adjectives/verbs, it means 'but/yet.' More formal than 但是.
usage
Common compounds: 而且 (moreover), 然而 (however), 而已 (that's all), 从而 (thereby). 而 adds a literary or formal tone.

Stroke Order

而 ér