B2 · Grammar reference
Comparing "zai" and "you"
Both 再 (zài) and 又 (yòu) express the repeating of an action and can be roughly translated in English to "again." However, 再 is used to express actions that have not yet occurred (the "future again") and 又 is used for actions that have already occurred (the "past again"). They're not interchangeable. In addition, each word has a few special usages.
- Keywords
- 再 · 又 · again
- Used for
- Describing actions · Sequencing events in time
- Classification
- HSK3
Examples (18)
我们下次再来吧。
我想再看一下。
请再说一次。
我要再看一部电影。
你可以再做一碗面条吗？
我们先做作业再去爬山。
我先买房子再结婚。
我们吃完饭再看电影。
我们回家再讨论，好吗？
你怎么又给我打电话了，什么事？
这个人又来了。
他又不来上课了，老师可能罚他。
你为什么又看这本书了？你已经看过了。
明天又是星期一！
明天又要开会，真烦人。
你又要辞职了？为什么？
夏天快到了，又可以吃冰淇淋了！
如果我能瘦一些，我就又能穿我最喜欢的牛仔裤啦！
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Summary, structure, classification, and adapted sentence examples draw from the AllSet Learning Chinese Grammar Wiki under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0; changes were made. This noncommercial reference is based on an October 2023 snapshot.
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