用 (yòng) — to use / with | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

用 (yòng) does two jobs that English keeps apart. As a full verb it is "to use" — 用电脑 "use a computer," 用筷子 "use chopsticks." But its higher-frequency role is as an instrument coverb meaning "with / by means of," and here word order flips relative to English: the tool phrase 用… goes before the main verb, not after. English says "eat with chopsticks" (instrument last); Chinese says 用筷子吃饭 (instrument first). Finally, its negation 不用 (búyòng) has drifted to mean "needn't / no need" — not "can't use." Keep those three senses separate and 用 becomes easy.

Sense 1: use (full verb)

The plain verb 用 takes a direct object — a tool, a device, a resource — and often pairs with 一下 (yíxià) to soften a request to borrow something.

我可以用一下你的笔吗？

wǒ kěyǐ yòng yíxià nǐ de bǐ ma

May I use your pen for a second? (informal, polite) — 用 + object + 一下.

这台洗衣机怎么用？

zhè tái xǐyījī zěnme yòng

How do you use this washing machine?

别的房间没人用，你去那儿打电话吧。

bié de fángjiān méi rén yòng, nǐ qù nàr dǎ diànhuà ba

No one's using the other room — go make your call in there.

Sense 2: with / by means of (instrument coverb)

This is the sense learners underuse. To say the tool, material, language, or method of an action, put 用 + instrument first, then the verb. This is the same slot logic as other coverbs: the coverb phrase modifies the verb, so it comes before it.

中国人一般用筷子吃饭。

Zhōngguó rén yìbān yòng kuàizi chī fàn

Chinese people usually eat with chopsticks. — 用筷子 BEFORE 吃饭.

请用中文回答这个问题。

qǐng yòng Zhōngwén huídá zhège wèntí

Please answer this question in Chinese. — 'in Chinese' = 用中文.

现在很多人都用手机付钱。

xiànzài hěn duō rén dōu yòng shǒujī fù qián

These days a lot of people pay with their phone.

Sense 3: 不用 — no need / needn't

Negate 用 and, in the fixed adverb 不用, the meaning shifts from "not use" to "there's no need to." It heads a verb phrase: 不用 + V = "don't have to V." The stock reply 不用谢 is literally "no need to thank (me)." (For the fuller treatment, see 不用.)

不用谢，这是我应该做的。

búyòng xiè, zhè shì wǒ yīnggāi zuò de

You're welcome — it's the least I could do. — 不用 = 'no need'.

你不用来接我，我自己打车过去。

nǐ búyòng lái jiē wǒ, wǒ zìjǐ dǎ chē guòqù

You don't need to come pick me up — I'll grab a cab over.

剩下的不用找了，谢谢。

shèngxià de búyòng zhǎo le, xièxie

Keep the change, thanks. — literally 'no need to give change'.

Sense 4: the 用-family — useful, hardworking

Two derived words come up constantly: 有用 (yǒuyòng) "useful," 没用 (méiyòng) "useless / no use," and 用功 (yònggōng) "hardworking, diligent (at study)."

这个学习软件真的很有用。

zhège xuéxí ruǎnjiàn zhēn de hěn yǒuyòng

This study app is genuinely useful.

别哭了，哭也没用。

bié kū le, kū yě méiyòng

Stop crying — crying won't help. — 没用 'of no use'.

他学习特别用功，每天都学到半夜。

tā xuéxí tèbié yònggōng, měi tiān dōu xué dào bànyè

He's an extremely diligent student — studies till midnight every day.

Key collocations

Phrase	Pinyin	Meaning
用电脑	yòng diànnǎo	use a computer
用筷子吃	yòng kuàizi chī	eat with chopsticks
用中文写	yòng Zhōngwén xiě	write in Chinese
用手机付钱	yòng shǒujī fù qián	pay with a phone
不用	búyòng	needn't, no need to
不用谢	búyòng xiè	you're welcome
有用	yǒuyòng	useful
没用	méiyòng	useless, no use
用功	yònggōng	diligent, studious
使用	shǐyòng	use, operate (formal)

Grammar notes

In the instrument sense, 用 is a coverb: it forms a prepositional phrase 用 + noun that must precede the main verb, exactly like 在 (location) or 跟 (companion). In formal or written registers, 使用 (shǐyòng) "to use / operate" (formal) replaces 用 as a full verb, and 利用 (lìyòng) "to utilize / exploit" adds the nuance of turning something to advantage — 利用周末学习 "make use of the weekend to study." A near neighbour is 拿 (ná) "take / hold": 拿刀切 and 用刀切 both mean "cut with a knife," but 拿 foregrounds physically picking the tool up, while 用 states the means neutrally.

Common Mistakes

1. Putting the instrument phrase after the verb. English order ("write in Chinese") tempts learners to append 用…, but the coverb must lead.

❌ 请说用汉语。

Wrong order — the instrument coverb goes first.

✅ 请用汉语说。

qǐng yòng Hànyǔ shuō

Please say it in Chinese.

2. Dropping 用 so the tool becomes the object. Without 用, 吃筷子 literally says "eat chopsticks."

❌ 我不会吃筷子。

Wrong — this says 'I can't eat chopsticks'; you need the coverb 用.

✅ 我不会用筷子吃饭。

wǒ bú huì yòng kuàizi chī fàn

I can't eat with chopsticks.

3. Reading 不用 as 'cannot use'. 不用 = "no need"; "cannot use" is 不能用 (bù néng yòng). To say "you don't need to wait," use 不用, never 不能 (which means "can't").

❌ 你不能等我。

Wrong for 'no need to wait' — this means 'you can't/aren't allowed to wait for me'.

✅ 你不用等我，先走吧。

nǐ búyòng děng wǒ, xiān zǒu ba

You don't need to wait for me — go on ahead.

4. Building 'useful' as *很用 or negating with 不. "Useful" is 有用; its negative is 没用 (or 没有用), never *不用 (which is "needn't").

❌ 这个方法很用。

Wrong — 'useful' is 有用, not 用 alone.

✅ 这个方法很有用。

zhège fāngfǎ hěn yǒuyòng

This method is really useful.

Key Takeaways

用 is both the verb "use" (用电脑) and the instrument coverb "with / by means of."
The coverb phrase 用… comes before the main verb: 用筷子吃饭, 用中文写 — never after.
Drop 用 and the tool becomes the object: 吃筷子 = "eat chopsticks," not "eat with chopsticks."
不用 = "no need / needn't" (不用谢). "Cannot use" is 不能用 — a different word.
Derived forms: 有用 "useful," 没用 "useless," 用功 "diligent"; formal 使用 / 利用.

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