根据 / 按照 (gēnjù / ànzhào): According To | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

English lets one phrase — "according to" — do two very different jobs: "according to the forecast, it'll rain" (drawing a conclusion from evidence) and "handle it according to the rules" (acting in compliance with a standard). Chinese pulls these apart into two coverbs. 根据 (gēnjù) marks the grounds you reason from — data, reports, experience, evidence. 按照 (ànzhào) marks the standard you conform to — rules, plans, instructions, contracts. Both are verb-derived, both take a nominal basis, and both lead the clause like an English "According to X, …" adverbial. The whole skill is choosing between evidence (根据) and compliance (按照) — and this page gives you a reliable test.

根据: the grounds you reason from

Use 根据 when the noun is the evidence, source, or basis for a conclusion or claim. You are saying "going by X" — a forecast, a report, research, statistics, experience, a rumour. You infer from it; you do not obey it.

根据天气预报，明天有大雨。

gēnjù tiānqì yùbào, míngtiān yǒu dà yǔ

According to the forecast, there'll be heavy rain tomorrow. (neutral) — a forecast is evidence to reason from: 根据.

根据这份报告，销售额下降了百分之十。

gēnjù zhè fèn bàogào, xiāoshòu'é xiàjiàng le bǎi fēn zhī shí

According to this report, sales fell by ten percent. (formal) — citing a source: 根据.

根据我的经验，这种问题最好当面解决。

gēnjù wǒ de jīngyàn, zhè zhǒng wèntí zuì hǎo dāngmiàn jiějué

In my experience, this kind of problem is best solved face to face. (neutral) — experience as grounds: 根据.

Note that 根据 is also a noun meaning "basis, grounds" — 有根据 (well-founded), 没有根据 (baseless). This dual life as noun and coverb is a good reminder that its core is evidence.

你这么说有什么根据吗？

nǐ zhème shuō yǒu shénme gēnjù ma?

What grounds do you have for saying that? (neutral) — 根据 as the noun 'grounds'.

按照: the standard you comply with

Use 按照 when the noun is a rule, plan, order, procedure, or instruction that the action must follow or conform to. You are not inferring — you are executing something in line with a fixed standard.

一切按照规定办理，谁也不能例外。

yíqiè ànzhào guīdìng bànlǐ, shéi yě bù néng lìwài

Everything is handled by the rules — no exceptions for anyone. (formal) — compliance with regulations: 按照.

我们按照原来的计划出发。

wǒmen ànzhào yuánlái de jìhuà chūfā

We're setting off according to the original plan. (neutral) — following a plan: 按照.

请按照说明书一步一步操作。

qǐng ànzhào shuōmíngshū yí bù yí bù cāozuò

Please operate it step by step per the manual. (formal) — following instructions: 按照.

💡

Two questions sort them instantly. "On what evidence do I conclude this?" → 根据 (forecast, report, data, experience). "What standard am I following?" → 按照 (rules, plans, orders, manuals). Reason-from = 根据; comply-with = 按照.

	根据 (gēnjù)	按照 (ànzhào)
Core sense	on the basis / evidence of	in compliance with
Typical object	report, data, forecast, experience, research	rule, plan, contract, order, manual
Relation	you infer from it	you conform to it
Also a noun?	yes — 有根据 'grounds'	no

The overlap — and 依照 / 照

Honesty check: the two genuinely overlap on things that are both evidence and standard, like a contract or a law. 根据合同 frames the contract as the grounds for a claim ("per the contract, they owe us…"); 按照合同 frames it as the terms to comply with ("carry it out in accordance with the contract"). Both are correct — pick by whether you are citing or complying.

根据合同，他们应该赔偿我们的损失。

gēnjù hétong, tāmen yīnggāi péicháng wǒmen de sǔnshī

Under the contract, they should compensate our losses. (formal) — the contract as grounds for the claim: 根据.

For register, both 根据 and 按照 are neutral-to-formal and everywhere in news, notices, and writing (see spoken vs written register). Their more literary sibling is 依照 (yīzhào, chiefly legal), and the casual spoken shortcut for "do as…" is 照 (zhào): 照我说的做 (do as I say), 照老规矩 (as per the usual custom).

Common Mistakes

1. Using 按照 for evidence you merely infer from. You reason from a forecast; you do not comply with one.

❌ 按照天气预报，明天会下雨。

Incorrect — a forecast is evidence to reason from, so 根据, not 按照.

✅ 根据天气预报，明天会下雨。

gēnjù tiānqì yùbào, míngtiān huì xià yǔ

Going by the forecast, it'll rain tomorrow. — evidence: 根据.

2. Using 根据 for 'do as instructed'. Following a person's instruction step by step is compliance — 按照 or 照.

❌ 你根据我说的做就行了。

Unnatural — obeying an instruction is compliance; use 按照我说的 or 照我说的.

✅ 你按照我说的做就行了。

nǐ ànzhào wǒ shuō de zuò jiù xíng le

Just do as I said and it'll be fine. — compliance: 按照.

3. Putting the phrase after the clause. Both coverbs must lead the sentence, not trail it.

❌ 明天会下雨根据天气预报。

Wrong order — the basis phrase comes first: 根据天气预报，明天会下雨.

✅ 根据天气预报，明天会下雨。

gēnjù tiānqì yùbào, míngtiān huì xià yǔ

According to the forecast, it'll rain tomorrow. — 根据 phrase leads.

4. Saying 根据我 for 'according to me / in my opinion'. 根据 needs an evidential source, not a mere opinion-holder; use 在我看来 or 我觉得.

❌ 根据我，这个决定是错的。

Incorrect — 'according to me' isn't 根据我; say 在我看来 or 我觉得.

✅ 在我看来，这个决定是错的。

zài wǒ kànlai, zhège juédìng shì cuò de

In my view, this decision is wrong. — opinion: 在我看来.

Key Takeaways

根据 (gēnjù) = the evidence / grounds you reason from: 根据天气预报, 根据报告, 根据经验. It is also the noun "grounds" (有根据).
按照 (ànzhào) = the standard you comply with: 按照规定, 按照计划, 按照说明书.
Both lead the clause and belong to formal / neutral register; the casual "do as…" shortcut is 照 (照我说的做).
On dual-nature objects (contracts, laws) both work — choose 根据 to cite, 按照 to comply.
English "according to me" is not 根据我 — use 在我看来 or 我觉得.

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