subject + 再 (zài) + adjective / verb + (object)
Mandarin Chinese Articles
How to use 再(zài, “again”) in Mandarin Chinese?
By: Lina Shen Tue Nov 26 2024
Mandarin chinesePrepositions
“Again” is a very common word. In Mandarin Chinese, the meaning of “again” is expressed in two different ways. See if you can detect them in the following dialogue. Imagine you arrive at work late again one morning. Your boss catches you right in the act:
Example: | |
|---|---|
Boss: | 你怎么又迟到了？这个礼拜已经是第三次了！ (Nǐ zěnme yòu chídào le? zhège lǐbài yǐjīng shì dì sān cì le!) How come you were late again? This is the third time this week! |
You: | 老板，我的闹钟又坏了！我保证我再也不迟到了！ (Lǎobǎn, wǒde nàozhōng yòu huài le! wǒ bǎozhèng wǒ zài yè bù chídào le! ) Boss, my alarm broke again! I promise I will never be late again! |
Boss: | 好吧，我再相信你一次。 (Hǎoba, wǒ zài xiāngxìn nǐ yícì.) Okay, I will trust you again this time. |
Did you notice that words 再 (zài) and 又 (yòu) are both used to express the meaning of “again” in the examples above? These two words are very similar, but are they interchangeable? Are there other meanings of these words? Is there a difference in how they’re used in a sentence?
In this post, we will examine how we can answer these questions for 再 (zài) and find the answers to them. For 又 (yòu), head to our other post!
Table of Contents
How to use 再 (zài) to indicate actions in the future in Mandarin Chinese?
Adverbs are words that modify either adjectives or verbs. They are placed before the adjectives or the verbs in Mandarin Chinese. Look at the adverb 再 (kài) in the examples from above:
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) is placed before the adjective 迟到 (chídào, “late”))
我再相信你一次。
(Hǎoba, wǒ zài xiāngxìn nǐ yícì.)
Okay, I will trust you again this time.
(→ 再 (zài) is placed before the verb 相信 (xiāngxìn, “to trust”))
Are you ready to dive into more usages of 再?
How does 再 (zài) indicate an action that will happen “again” in the future?
再 is used before an adjective or a verb to express that something has happened before and will happen again in the future. Let’s look at the sentence pattern.
他刚吃了感冒药，让他六小时后再吃一次。
(Tā gāng chī le gǎnmào yào, ràng tā liù xiǎoshí hòu zài chī yícì.)
He just had the cold medicine, let him have it again after 6 hours.
你会再来拜访我们吗？
(Ní huì zài lái bàifǎng wǒmen ma?)
Will you come and visit us again?
妈妈爸爸，再见！
(Māma bàba, zài jiàn!)
Mom and Dad, Goodbye!
(lit.) (Mom, Dad, see again.) →The expectation is that the speakers will see each other again.
我再试试, 可以吗？
(Wǒ zài shìshi, kěyǐ ma?)
May I try it again?
Important
Please note that the characters 再 (zài, again) and 在 (zài, be at/in) are homophones. They are both pronounced according to the Pinyin syllable "zài." The phonetic spellings and the sounds are identical, but they are different words represented by different characters.
How to use 再 (zài) to indicate an action that will keep happening to a higher degree?
In the pattern mentioned above (subject + 再 (zài) + adjective / verb), you will see words like 一下儿 (yíxiàr, in a while) , 一点儿 (yìdiǎnr, a bit) , or a quantity phrase, which are all added after the adjective or verb to indicate for how much more/longer the action will be happening. The notion of “again” is implied in the sense of keeping doing something.
Look at this sentence:
你再坚持三分钟！
(Nǐ zài jiānchí sān fēnzhōng! )
(You) Hold on for three more minutes!
再 is placed before the verb 坚持 (jiānchí, to hold on), and it is followed by a quantity phrase 三分钟 (sān fēnzhōng, three minutes). Let's look at more examples:
subject + 再 (zài) + adjective / verb + 一下儿 (yíxiàr, in a while) , 一点儿 (yìdiǎnr, a bit), or a quantity phrase
请您再等五分钟。
(Qǐng nín zài děng wǔ fēnzhōng.)
Please wait five more minutes. (= Please keep waiting for five more minutes)
你再睡一下儿吧！
(Nǐ zài shuì yíxiàr ba!)
How about you sleep a bit more? (= Why not keep sleeping a bit more?)
我能再吃一碗饭吗？
(Wǒ néng zài chī yìwǎn fàn ma?)
May I have one more bowl of rice?
老师，请再给我一点儿时间。
(Lǎoshī, qǐng zài gěi wǒ yidiǎnr shíjiān.)
Teacher, please give me a bit more time.
How to use 再 (zài) to indicate time sequence in the future: 先 (xiān)... 再 (zài)...?
再 can be used before a verb to express that another action will happen after the first action happens. It is like the English word “then.” You will use two sentences in this pattern. The first sentence will use the word 先 (xiān, at first) to start a sentence and it will be followed by another sentence with 再 to express that something happens first, and then another thing follows. If the subjects in these two sentences are the same, the subject in the latter part will be omitted.
subject + 先 (xiān, at first) + verb + (object), (subject) + 再 (zài) + verb + (object)
你们先去，我明天再去。
(Nǐmen xiān qù, wǒ míngtiān zài qù.)
You go first, and then I will come tomorrow.
他们先写作业，(他们) 再看电视。
(Tāmen xiān xiě zuòyè, (tāmen) zài kàn diànshì.)
They will do homework first and then watch TV.
我哥哥先吃完饭，(我哥哥) 再来帮我修车。
(Wǒ gēge xiān chī wán fàn, (wǒ gēge) zài lái bāng wǒ xiū chē.)
My older brother will eat and then come to help me fix the car.
你先想好, 再告诉我。
(Nǐ xiān xiǎng hǎo, zài gàosù wǒ.)
You think carefully about it first, and then let me know.
How is 再 (zài) used in negative sentences in Mandarin Chinese?
The adverb 再 can also be used along with the words 不 (bù) and 没 (méi), that form negative sentences in Mandarin Chinese. These two words are placed before a verb or an adjective to negate. Check our post about how to use 不 and 没.
How do you decide the order of these words? Read on! The following part will discuss how we use 再 in negative sentences.
How to use 不再 (bù zài) to indicate that “action will no longer happen again”?
不再 (bù zài) is used to express that something will no longer happen again. Please note that in this pattern, the word modal particle 了 (le) is added in the end of the sentence to indicate the change of state. 了 (le) cannot be omitted.
subject + 不再 (bù zài) + verb + (object) + 了 (le)
他不再弹钢琴了。
(Tā bù zài dàn gāngqín le.)
He will no longer play piano. / He will not play piano anymore. / He won’t play piano again.
我不再喜欢听古典音乐了。
(Wǒ bù zài xǐhuān tīng gǔdiǎn yīnyuèle.)
I won’t listen to classical music anymore.
How to use 再也不 (zài yě bù) to indicate “action will never happen again”
再也不 (zài yě bù) is used to express that something will never happen again. It indicates the speaker’s strong determination.The same as 不再 (bù zài), the modal particle 了 (le) is added in the end of the sentence to indicate the change of state. 了 (le) cannot be omitted.
subject + 再也不 (zài yě bù) + verb + (object) + 了 (le)
我再也不吃辣椒了。
(Wǒ zài yě bù chī làjiāo le.)
I will never eat chili peppers again.
你这个骗子！我再也不相信你了。
(Nǐ zhè ge piànzi! wǒ zài yě bù xiāngxìn nǐ le.)
You are a liar! I will never believe you again.
我再也不吃这家的中餐了。
(Wǒ zài yě bù chī zhèjiā de zhōngcān le.)
I will never again have Chinese food from this restaurant.
How to use 再也没 (zài yě méi) to indicate "have/has not happened again"?
再也没 (zài yě méi) is used before a verb to express that something has not happened again. In this pattern, the aspectual particle 过 (guo) is used after the verb. Let’s look at the pattern:
subject + 再也没 (zài yě méi) + verb +过 (guo)+ (object)
毕业后，我再也没见过他。
(Bìyè hòu, wǒ zài yě méi jiàn guo tā.)
I haven’t seen him since graduation.
从那以后，我们再也没联系过。
(Cóng nà yǐhòu, wǒmen zài yě méi liánxì guo.)
Since then, we have not contacted each other.
找到新工作以后，姐姐再也没来看过我。
(Zhǎodào xīn gōngzuò yǐhòu, jiějie zài yě méi lái kàn guo wǒ.)
After finding a new job, my older sister has not visited me again.
To sum up
As we discussed, 再 (zài) is placed before an adjective or a verb to indicate:
Actions that will happen again in the future
欢迎你下次再来我家玩。
(Huānyíng nǐ xià cì zài lái wǒ jiā wán.)
Welcome to my house again next time.
请您在等五分钟。
(Qǐng nín zài děng wǔ fēnzhōng.)
Please wait five more minutes.
Actions that will happen after the first action happens: 先 (xiān) ... 再 (zài)...
我们先吃饭，再写作业。
(Wǒmen xiān chīfàn, zài xiě zuòyè.)
We will eat first, and then do homework.
再 (zài) is also used in negative sentences to express:
Meaning of 再 (zài) in negative sentence | Example |
|---|---|
不再 (bù zài) will not happen again | 他们不再学武术了。 (Tāmen búzài xué wǔshù le.) They will no longer study martial arts. |
再也不 (zài yě bù) never happen again | 我再也不迟到了。 (Wǒ zài yè bù chídào le.) I will never be late again. |
再也没 (zài yě méi) have/has not happened again | 他们再也没迟到过。 (Tāmen zài yě méi chídào guo.) They have not been late again. |
Thank you for joining us in our discussion on how to use 再 (zài). If you are interested in learning about the other half of “again,” namely 又 (yòu), read our other post where we talk about the difference between these two tricky words.
You can always try our exercises to practice what we discussed!
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