subject +
又 (yòu, again) + adjective / verb + 了 (le) + (object)
Mandarin Chinese Articles
How to use 又(yòu) in Mandarin Chinese?
By: Lina Shen Tue Nov 26 2024
Mandarin chineseAdverbs
In our other post, we discussed how to use 再 (zài) to say “again.” Let’s discuss “again” again! In this post we will talk about the other “again” word, 又 (yòu), and figure out how these two differ.
In the post on 再 (zài), we encountered a boss who was angry again at an employee for being late again due to an alarm clock being broken (of course) again. Let’s review how 再 (zài) is used in the following two sentences from that dialogue.
我保证我再也不迟到了！
(Wǒ bǎozhèng wǒ zài yè bù chídào le.)
I promise I will not be late again.
→ 再 (zài, again) is used to indicate actions will not happen in the future.
我再相信你一次。
(Hǎoba, wǒ zài xiāngxìn nǐ yíc.)
Fine! I will trust you again.
→ 再 (zài, again) is used to indicate actions will not happen in the future.
So far so good, right? Now let’s look at these sentences:
你怎么又迟到了？
(Nǐ zěnme yòu chídào le?)
How come you were late again?
我的闹钟又坏了！
(Wǒde nàozhōng yòu huài le!)
My alarm broke again!
Right now your internal Chinese-language alarm should be ringing, and you should be asking why “again” is expressed in these sentences not with our familiar friend 再 (zài), but with this new imposter 又 (yòu). Is something wrong here? If there isn’t (there isn’t), then what explains these two words? Can you look closely and try to figure out?
Keep reading to find out if you were right about how to use 又 (yòu)!
Table of Contents
How does 又 (yòu) indicate recurrence (in the past)?
又 (yòu, again) indicates that something has happened repeatedly in the past. Let’s think about this example listed above: 我的闹钟又坏了！ (wǒde nàozhōng yòu huài le, My alarm broke again!). In this sentence, 又 is placed before the verb
坏 (huài, to be broken) to indicate that your alarm had broken once (or more times) before, and now it broke again.
The phrase is
我的闹钟又坏 (wǒde nàozhōng yòu huài), but it is not yet a finished sentence. Because the action indicated in the sentence (又坏 (yòu huài, broke again) is over, i.e. it has already happened, we must put the particle 了 (le) after the action to indicate a change of state / condition. (In this case, from not being broken to being broken). 了 (le) cannot be omitted.
你又迟到了。
(Nǐ yòu chídào le.)
You were late again.
昨天我又买了一只烤鸡。
(Zuótiān wǒ yòu mǎi le yìzhī kǎojī.)
(Yesterday) I bought roasted chicken again.
下午他们又去海边了。
(Xiàwǔ tāmen yòu qù hǎibiān le.)
They went to the beach again this afternoon.
Important
You may recall that 再 (zài) means “again” in the future. Now, we see that 又 (yòu) means “again” in the past. 又 (yòu, again) is not interchangeable with 再 (zài, again) in the sentences above.
X 你今天再迟到了。
(Nǐ jīntiān zài chídào le.)
X 我再买了一只烤鸡。
(Wǒ zài mǎi le yìzhī kǎojī.)
X他们再去海边了。
(Tāmen yòu qù hǎibiān le.)
How does 又 (yòu) indicate repetition in Mandarin Chinese?
又 is often used with the verb reduplication pattern verb + 了 (le) + verb to indicate that the same action happens in the past repeatedly. Please note that the verbs used here are often single-syllableNo definition set for syllableLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. verbs, such as 读 (dú, to read), 看 (kàn, to look), 想 (xiǎng, to think), 听 (tīng, to listen), 吃 (chī, to eat), and so on. 又 (yòu, again) and 再 (zài, again) are not interchangeable.
TipThe reduplications of single syllable verbs
A verb is repeated in forms AA, A 一 (yī) A, or A 了 (le) A to express a short action, an attempt, or a sense of being light and relaxed. For example, verb 吃 (chī, to eat) in the forms of reduplications can be 吃吃 (chīchi), 吃一吃 (chī yì chī), or 吃了吃 (chī le chī), all meaning “to nibble.” Here, verb +
了 (le) + verb emphasizes the completion of an action.
subject + verb + 了 (le) + 又 (yòu) + verb
我们逛了又逛，也没找到合适的帽子。
(Wǒmen guàng le yòu guàng, yě méi zhǎo dào héshì de màozi.)
We shopped and shopped, (but we) could not find the right hat.
他们想了又想，还是不知道这是什么。
(Tāmen xiǎng le yòu xiǎng, hái shì bù zhīdào zhè shì shénme.)
They thought and thought, (but they) still don’t know what it was.
老师问了又问，可是学生们就是不回答。
(Lǎoshī wèn le yòu wèn, kěshì xuéshēng men jiù shì bù huídá.)
The teacher asked and asked, but the students still did not answer.
How does 又 (yòu) indicate regular occurrence in the immediate future?
So far, we have discussed how 又 is used to indicate the repetitions of an action in the past. But do you know that 又 can also be used to indicate a repetition of an action that will happen in the immediate coming future?
Usually, these repetitions are inevitable (It’s going to get dark soon again!) and are regular (It will be Monday again tomorrow!). Please note that in this pattern, the particle 了 (le) is added in the end of the sentence to indicate the change of state. 了 (le) cannot be omitted.
Before you read on, take your best shot at saying these two sentences aloud in Mandarin:
It’s going to get dark soon again.
It will be Monday again tomorrow.
subject + 又 (yòu) + adjective / verb + (object) + 了 (le)
天又快要黑了。
(Tiān yòu kuài yào hēi le.)
It’s going to get dark again soon!
明天又是星期一了。
(Míngtiān yòu shì xīngqī yī le.)
It will be Monday again tomorrow.
今晚我们又要加班了。
(Jīnwǎn wǒmen yòu yào jiābān le.)
We will need to work overtime again this evening.
暑假又要到了。
(Shǔjià yòu yào dào le.)
Summer vacation is coming again soon.
You probably want to ask: since this pattern indicates repeated actions in the future, does it mean 又 can be substituted by 再 (zài, again)? The answer is: NO! 再 does indicate actions that will happen again in the future, but these repetitions do not refer to actions that are inevitable.
X 天再快要黑了。
(Tiān zài kuài yào hēi le. )
It’s going to get dark again soon!
→ The repetition is inevitable
✓ 如果你明天再迟到，就会被开除了。
(Rúguǒ nǐ míngtiān zài chídào, jiù huì bèi kāichú le.)
If you are late again tomorrow, then you will be fired.
How is 又 (yòu) used in negative sentences in Mandarin Chinese?
Just as 再 (zài, again) can be used in negative sentences— as in 他不再弹钢琴了 (He won’t play the piano any longer)—, in the same manner, the negation words 不 (bù) or 没 (méi) can be used with 又 (yòu). Check our post about how to use 不 and 没.
Let’s look at this negative sentence:
他们昨天没来上汉语课。
(Tāmen zuótiān méi lái shàng hànyǔ kè.)
They didn't come to Chinese class yesterday.
If the action described in this sentence is repeated, namely if the same students are again absent from Chinese class, the word 又 is added to the sentence and it looks like this:
他们今天又没来上汉语课。
(Tāmen jīntiān yòu méi lái shàng hànyǔ kè. )
They didn’t come to Chinese class again today.
In this pattern, we don’t add the particle 了 (le) in the end of the sentence, because the action named in the sentence does not occur or indicate the change of state.
Again, 又 (yòu) and 再 (zài) are not interchangeable in this pattern. Let us look at some examples.
subject + 又 (yòu) + 不 (bù) / 没 (méi) + adjective / verb + (object)
你又不参加他的生日派对吗？
(Nǐ yòu bù cānjiā tāde shēngrì pàiduì ma?)
Were you not going to attend his birthday party again?
你怎么又没做晚饭？
(Nǐ zěnme yòu méi zuò wǎnfàn?)
Why didn’t you make dinner again?
我又没做完作业。
(Wǒ yòu méi zuò wán zuòyè.)
I didn’t finish homework again.
To sum up
又 (yòu, again) is mostly used to express repeated actions that happen in the past. It is also sometimes used to indicate something that will happen inevitably in the immediate future. Conversely, 再 (zài, again) is used to express actions that will happen again in the future.
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