用 (yòng): With / Using (Instrument) | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

English uses one word — "with" — for two completely different jobs: "eat with chopsticks" (a tool) and "eat with friends" (a companion). Chinese keeps these apart. The tool sense is 用 (yòng), an instrument coverb meaning "using"; the companion sense is 跟 or 和, covered on the 跟 / 和 'with' page. Mix them up and you get sentences like "eat with chopsticks" using the companion word — which sounds as if the chopsticks are your dining partners. This page nails down instrumental 用: how it slots into the sentence, why it always comes first, and how the same character doubles as the plain verb "to use."

The frame: 用 + tool comes before the verb

The pattern is the standard coverb frame: Subject + 用 + [tool / method] + Main Verb + (object). The instrument is named before the action it enables — the mirror image of English, which trails the tool after the verb ("eat with chopsticks"). Think of it as "using-chopsticks, eat."

中国人用筷子吃饭。

Zhōngguó rén yòng kuàizi chī fàn

Chinese people eat with chopsticks. (neutral) — 用筷子 leads, the verb 吃饭 follows.

别用手，用叉子。

bié yòng shǒu, yòng chāzi

Don't use your hands — use a fork. (informal) — everyday instrument 用.

我用热水把杯子洗干净了。

wǒ yòng rè shuǐ bǎ bēizi xǐ gānjìng le

I washed the cup clean with hot water. (neutral) — the means (hot water) is fronted with 用.

用 + tool	Main verb	Meaning
用筷子 (yòng kuàizi)	吃饭 (chī fàn)	eat with chopsticks
用手机 (yòng shǒujī)	付钱 (fù qián)	pay with a phone
用左手 (yòng zuǒshǒu)	写字 (xiě zì)	write with the left hand
用微波炉 (yòng wēibōlú)	热一下 (rè yíxià)	heat it up in the microwave

Languages and methods count as instruments

This is the extension English speakers most often miss. When you say something in a language, or by a method, Chinese treats the language or method as an instrument and marks it with 用 — not with 在 or 说. "Say it in Chinese" is 用中文说, literally "using-Chinese, say."

这个词用中文怎么说？

zhège cí yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?

How do you say this word in Chinese? (neutral) — the language is an instrument: 用中文.

请用英语回答问题。

qǐng yòng Yīngyǔ huídá wèntí

Please answer the question in English. (formal) — 'in English' = 用英语.

我是用微信付款的。

wǒ shì yòng Wēixìn fùkuǎn de

I paid via WeChat. (informal) — a payment method is an instrument, so 用.

💡

When English says "in [a language]" or "by [a method]" — "in Chinese," "by hand," "via WeChat" — reach for 用, not 在 or 跟. If you could rephrase it as "using X," it's 用: 用中文 (in Chinese), 用手 (by hand), 用微信 (via WeChat).

用 is also the plain verb "to use" — and 不用 "needn't"

The same character 用 is an ordinary main verb meaning "to use," standing on its own with a normal object. Context tells you which role it plays: as a coverb it is followed by another verb (用筷子吃); as a main verb it is the action itself (用这个).

这个可以用吗？

zhège kěyǐ yòng ma?

Can I use this one? (informal) — 用 here is the main verb 'to use'.

我平时用这个牌子的牙膏。

wǒ píngshí yòng zhège páizi de yágāo

I usually use this brand of toothpaste. (neutral) — plain verb 'use'.

Negated, 用 gives you the extremely common 不用 (bú yòng) "needn't / no need to," which behaves like a modal — see the 不用 page for the full picture.

不用谢，这是我应该做的。

bú yòng xiè, zhè shì wǒ yīnggāi zuò de

No need to thank me — it's the least I could do. (neutral) — 不用 = 'no need to'.

Common Mistakes

1. Using 跟 / 和 for a tool. A companion word can never mark an instrument. Chopsticks are not your dining partner.

❌ 我跟筷子吃饭。

Incorrect — chopsticks are a tool, not a companion; use 用, not 跟.

✅ 我用筷子吃饭。

wǒ yòng kuàizi chī fàn

I eat with chopsticks. — instrument 用.

2. Trailing the instrument after the verb, English-style. The 用 phrase must precede the main verb, not follow it.

❌ 我写字用左手。

Wrong order — the instrument phrase leads: 用左手写字.

✅ 我用左手写字。

wǒ yòng zuǒshǒu xiě zì

I write with my left hand. — 用 + tool comes first.

3. Marking a language with 在 or 说 instead of 用. "In Chinese" is an instrument, so 用中文.

❌ 请在中文说。

Incorrect — a language is an instrument; say 用中文说, not 在中文说.

✅ 请用中文说。

qǐng yòng Zhōngwén shuō

Please say it in Chinese. — 用中文 for the language.

4. Splitting 不用 or writing it as 没用. The "needn't" negation is 不用 as a unit; 没用 means "useless," a different word.

❌ 你没用来接我。

Incorrect — 'you needn't come pick me up' is 不用来, not 没用来 (没用 = 'useless').

✅ 你不用来接我。

nǐ bú yòng lái jiē wǒ

You don't need to come pick me up. — 不用 = 'needn't'.

Key Takeaways

用 (yòng) marks the instrument or method "with / using," always before the main verb: 用筷子吃饭, 用手机付钱.
Keep it apart from companion "with a person," which is 跟 / 和: 用筷子 (a tool) vs 跟朋友 (a person).
Languages and methods are instruments: 用中文写, 用英语说, 用微信付款 — not 在 or 说.
The same 用 is the plain verb "to use" (这个可以用吗？) and gives the modal 不用 "needn't" (不用谢).
Word order is the biggest trap: the tool leads, the action follows.

Now practice Chinese

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Chinese→