Joining Nouns: 和 / 跟 / 与 / 同 | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

和 (hé) is the word English speakers grab first for "and" — and for half of its jobs, they're right. 我和你 (you and I), 咖啡和茶 (coffee and tea): 和 links two nouns beautifully. The trap is the other half. English "and" is a universal glue — it joins nouns, verbs, adjectives, whole sentences ("I got up and ate and left"). Chinese 和 is not that glue. It joins items of the same type — chiefly nouns and noun phrases — and it does not chain verbs, actions or clauses. Miswire this and you produce the single most recognisable beginner error in the language: *我起床和吃饭. This page fixes that reflex and sorts out 和's three cousins — 跟, 与, 同 — by register.

和 links nouns and noun phrases

Put two (or more) nouns on either side of 和 and you have a coordinate phrase that behaves as a single unit — a joint subject, a joint object, a list.

我和你想的完全一样。

wǒ hé nǐ xiǎng de wánquán yíyàng

You and I think exactly alike. (informal) — 我和你 is a joint subject.

冰箱里有苹果和香蕉。

bīngxiāng li yǒu píngguǒ hé xiāngjiāo

There are apples and bananas in the fridge. (informal) — 和 joins two object nouns.

老师和学生都同意这个安排。

lǎoshī hé xuésheng dōu tóngyì zhège ānpái

Both the teachers and the students agree with this arrangement. (neutral) — a joint subject, reinforced by 都.

For a list of three or more, Chinese uses the enumeration comma 、 between the inner items and saves 和 for the last pair — much like English "A, B and C."

桌子上有苹果、香蕉和橙子。

zhuōzi shang yǒu píngguǒ, xiāngjiāo hé chéngzi

On the table there are apples, bananas and oranges. (neutral) — 、 between items, 和 before the last one only.

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The safe rule of thumb: if you can't point at both sides of 和 and call each one a noun (a person, a thing, a place), you probably want something other than 和. Two verbs, two adjectives, two clauses — each has its own joining tool.

The four words: same job, different register

和, 跟, 与 and 同 all conjoin nouns, but they sit at different points on the formality scale. Pick by register.

Word	Register	Feel
和 (hé)	neutral	the default; safe everywhere
跟 (gēn)	informal / colloquial	everyday speech, common in the north
与 (yǔ)	formal / written	titles, essays, headlines
同 (tóng)	formal / regional	set phrases, some southern speech

我跟他是多年的老同学。

wǒ gēn tā shì duō nián de lǎo tóngxué

He and I are old classmates from way back. (informal) — 跟 in casual speech.

中国与世界的关系越来越紧密。

Zhōngguó yǔ shìjiè de guānxi yuèláiyuè jǐnmì

China's relationship with the world grows ever closer. (formal, written) — 与, the register of headlines and essays.

理论同实践必须相结合。

lǐlùn tóng shíjiàn bìxū xiāng jiéhé

Theory must be combined with practice. (formal) — 同 in an elevated, set-phrase style.

The core rule: 和 does NOT join verbs or clauses

Here is the line that separates English habits from Chinese grammar. To chain actions or whole sentences, Chinese does not use 和 — it simply puts the clauses in sequence, or bridges them with a connective like 然后 (ránhòu, then), 而且 (érqiě, moreover) or 就 (jiù). "I got up and ate breakfast" is a sequence of actions, so 和 is wrong.

我起床，然后吃早饭。

wǒ qǐchuáng, ránhòu chī zǎofàn

I got up and (then) had breakfast. (informal) — two actions chained with 然后, never 和. See the 先…然后…再 page.

天气很好，我们出去走走吧。

tiānqì hěn hǎo, wǒmen chūqù zǒuzou ba

The weather's lovely, let's go out for a walk. (informal) — two clauses simply sit side by side; no 和 between them.

There is one honest refinement worth knowing. In formal, written Chinese, 和 can link two parallel disyllabic verbs or adjectives that form a conceptual pair — 调查和研究 (investigate and study), 团结和合作 (unity and cooperation) — where the pair functions almost like a compound noun. But it never links full clauses or a string of sequential actions, and in ordinary speech you should keep 和 for nouns. When in doubt, only join nouns with 和.

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The English reflex to break is "and-chaining" actions: I woke up and showered and left. Chinese narrates a sequence by simply placing the verbs in order, often with 就 or 然后 — 我起床、洗澡，然后就出门了 — and 和 never appears between them.

When 和 means "with," not "and"

和 and especially 跟 have a second life as a coverb meaning "with" — 我和朋友一起去 (I'm going with a friend). Same character, different grammatical job; the choice between "and" and "with" readings comes from context and word order. That coverb use has its own home on the 跟 / 和 'with' page, and the formal 与 / 同 'with' on the 同 / 与 page.

周末我和朋友一起去看电影。

zhōumò wǒ hé péngyou yìqǐ qù kàn diànyǐng

At the weekend I'm going to see a film with a friend. (informal) — here 和 = 'with', signalled by 一起.

Common Mistakes

1. Using 和 to join two clauses. Whole sentences sit side by side or take a connective, not 和.

❌ 我很累和我想回家。

Incorrect — 和 can't join clauses; use a comma (and optionally 而且/所以).

✅ 我很累，想回家了。

wǒ hěn lèi, xiǎng huí jiā le

I'm tired and want to go home. — two clauses, no 和 needed.

2. Using 和 to chain sequential actions. "Do X and (then) do Y" is a sequence — use 然后, not 和.

❌ 我每天起床和吃早饭。

Incorrect — these are sequential actions, not a noun list; 和 is wrong here.

✅ 我每天起床，然后吃早饭。

wǒ měitiān qǐchuáng, ránhòu chī zǎofàn

Every day I get up and then have breakfast. — 然后 chains the actions.

3. Joining predicate adjectives with 和. Two adjectives describing one subject take 又…又…, not 和.

❌ 这个房间大和亮。

Incorrect — predicate adjectives aren't joined by 和; use 又…又….

✅ 这个房间又大又亮。

zhège fángjiān yòu dà yòu liàng

This room is both big and bright. — 又大又亮, the pattern for stacked qualities.

4. Repeating 和 across a list. In a list of three or more, only the last pair takes 和; inner items use 、.

❌ 我买了苹果和香蕉和橙子。

Incorrect — don't repeat 和; separate inner items with 、.

✅ 我买了苹果、香蕉和橙子。

wǒ mǎi le píngguǒ, xiāngjiāo hé chéngzi

I bought apples, bananas and oranges. — 、 between, 和 before the last.

Key Takeaways

和 / 跟 / 与 / 同 join nouns and noun phrases — 我和你, 咖啡和茶, 老师和学生 — never whole clauses or sequential actions.
To chain actions or sentences, use sequence plus a connective like 然后, not 和: 我起床，然后吃饭.
Two predicate adjectives take 又…又… (又大又亮), not 和.
Register ladder: 与 (written) > 和 (neutral default) > 跟 (colloquial); 同 is formal / regional.
In a list, only the last pair takes 和; inner items are separated by 、. And note 和 / 跟 can also mean "with" — see the coverb pages.

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