次 (Times / Occurrences) | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

次 (cì) is the workhorse of the verbal measure words — the neutral counter you reach for whenever you want to say an action happened a certain number of times. It maps almost perfectly onto English "time(s)": 三次 "three times," 每次 "every time," 第一次 "the first time," 下次 "next time." Its meaning is deliberately plain — 次 counts occasions on which something happened and adds no extra shade. That neutrality is exactly why it's the default: when in doubt about which verbal measure to use, 次 is almost always safe. The one thing it does not convey is thoroughness or completeness — for "all the way through," Chinese switches to 遍.

Counting occurrences

The core use is Verb (+ 了/过) + Number + 次: a straightforward tally of how many times an action took place. It pairs naturally with the experiential 过 ("have ever...") to talk about life experiences.

我去过两次日本，都是夏天去的。

wǒ qù guo liǎng cì Rìběn, dōu shì xiàtiān qù de

I've been to Japan twice, both times in summer. (informal) — 次 tallies two separate visits.

我给他打了三次电话，都没人接。

wǒ gěi tā dǎ le sān cì diànhuà, dōu méi rén jiē

I called him three times and no one picked up. (informal) — three separate call attempts.

再给我一次机会吧，我一定改。

zài gěi wǒ yí cì jīhuì ba, wǒ yídìng gǎi

Give me one more chance — I'll definitely change. (informal) — 一次 = one (more) occasion.

这种事我提醒过你好几次了。

zhè zhǒng shì wǒ tíxǐng guo nǐ hǎojǐ cì le

I've reminded you about this kind of thing several times. (informal) — pronoun 你 before the frequency phrase; 好几次 = several times.

次 in set time expressions

次 also builds a family of everyday time words. With the ordinal prefix 第 it forms 第一次 "the first time," and with demonstratives and directionals it gives you 这次 "this time," 上次 "last time," 下次 "next time," 每次 "every time."

Expression	Pinyin	Meaning
第一次	dì-yī cì	the first time
这次	zhè cì	this time
上次	shàng cì	last time
下次	xià cì	next time
每次	měi cì	every time

这是我第一次坐飞机，有点儿紧张。

zhè shì wǒ dì-yī cì zuò fēijī, yǒudiǎnr jǐnzhāng

This is my first time on a plane — I'm a bit nervous. (informal) — 第一次 as a set phrase.

上次见面还是去年的事了。

shàng cì jiànmiàn háishi qùnián de shì le

The last time we met was back last year. (informal) — 上次 = last time.

每次来这家店，我都点同样的菜。

měi cì lái zhè jiā diàn, wǒ dōu diǎn tóngyàng de cài

Every time I come to this restaurant I order the same dish. (informal) — 每次 ... 都 = every time ...

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Note the ordinal split: to count occurrences ("twice"), use 两次 with 两. To say "the second time," use the ordinal 第二次 with 二. So 两次 = twice, but 第二次 = the second time — the number word changes with the job.

次 vs 遍 — the distinction to guard

This is the contrast every learner must get straight. 次 counts how many separate occasions; 遍 counts how many times you went through something start to finish. They often translate the same in English but say different things in Chinese.

这篇课文我看了三次，但还是没读完。

zhè piān kèwén wǒ kàn le sān cì, dàn háishi méi dú wán

I looked at this text on three occasions but still haven't finished it. (neutral) — 三次 = three sittings, not three complete read-throughs.

这篇课文我看了三遍，每个字都懂了。

zhè piān kèwén wǒ kàn le sān biàn, měi ge zì dōu dǒng le

I read this text through three times and understood every character. (neutral) — 三遍 = three complete run-throughs.

If you only mean "on N occasions," 次 is correct. The moment your point is "the whole thing, from beginning to end," switch to 遍.

Common Mistakes

1. Using 二 instead of 两 to count occurrences. "Twice" is 两次; 二次 is not the way to count.

❌ 我去过二次北京。

Incorrect — to count occurrences, 'twice' is 两次, not 二次.

✅ 我去过两次北京。

wǒ qù guo liǎng cì Běijīng

I've been to Beijing twice. — 两次 for the count.

2. Saying 一次 when you mean "the first time." "The first time" is the ordinal 第一次, not the bare 一次.

❌ 一次坐飞机的时候，我很害怕。

Incorrect — 'the first time' needs the ordinal 第一次; bare 一次 just means 'once.'

✅ 第一次坐飞机的时候，我很害怕。

dì-yī cì zuò fēijī de shíhou, wǒ hěn hàipà

The first time I flew, I was very scared. — 第一次 for 'the first time.'

3. Stranding 次 after a full noun object. Like all frequency phrases, it goes before a full noun object (or the object gets fronted).

❌ 我看那部电影三次了。

Dispreferred — don't leave 三次 after the full noun object; front the object instead.

✅ 那部电影我看过三次了。

nà bù diànyǐng wǒ kàn guo sān cì le

I've already seen that movie three times. — object fronted, 三次 after the verb.

4. Using 次 where the point is completeness. For a full read/listen-through, 遍 is the idiomatic choice.

❌ 老师让我们把课文读三次。

Loses the nuance — 'read the whole text through three times' is more naturally 三遍.

✅ 老师让我们把课文读三遍。

lǎoshī ràng wǒmen bǎ kèwén dú sān biàn

The teacher had us read the text through three times. — 遍 for the complete run-through.

Key Takeaways

次 (cì) is the default verbal measure — "time(s)," a plain tally of occasions with no nuance of completeness.
It builds the core time expressions: 第一次 (first time), 这次 / 上次 / 下次 (this / last / next time), 每次 (every time).
Count occurrences with 两次 (二 is wrong here); use the ordinal 第二次 for "the second time."
Object placement follows the general rule: before a full noun object, after a pronoun (提醒过你好几次).
Switch to 遍 when the point is doing something all the way through, not just how many times it happened.

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