而 (ér) means And (but). Below are 14 sentences on this site that use it — with pinyin, an English translation and audio. All of them were written by hand; none is machine generated.
Dictionary examples
这道题简单 而 有趣。
Zhè dào tí jiǎndān ér yǒuqù.
This question is simple and interesting.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 而
他喜欢安静， 而 我喜欢热闹。
Tā xǐhuan ānjìng, ér wǒ xǐhuan rènao.
He likes quiet, while I like a lively atmosphere.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 而
他很聪明， 而 且很努力。
Tā hěn cōngming, érqiě hěn nǔlì.
He is clever, and hard-working as well.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 而且
他很努力，然 而 结果并不好。
Tā hěn nǔlì, rán'ér jiéguǒ bìng bù hǎo.
He worked hard, yet the result was not good.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 然而
这个房间不但大， 而 且很干净。
Zhège fángjiān búdàn dà, érqiě hěn gānjìng.
This room is not only big, it's also very clean.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 不但
这本书不仅有趣， 而 且很有用。
Zhè běn shū bùjǐn yǒuqù, érqiě hěn yǒuyòng.
This book is not only interesting but also useful.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 不仅
他不但会说汉语， 而 且说得很好。
Tā búdàn huì shuō Hànyǔ, érqiě shuō de hěn hǎo.
He not only speaks Chinese, he speaks it very well.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 不但
这家超市很近， 而 且东西很便宜。
Zhè jiā chāoshì hěn jìn, érqiě dōngxi hěn piányi.
This supermarket is close, and the goods are cheap too.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 而且
天气不好，然 而 比赛还是开始了。
Tiānqì bù hǎo, rán'ér bǐsài háishi kāishǐ le.
The weather was bad; nevertheless the match started.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 然而
From the graded readers
最难的不是第一天， 而 是第十天。
zuì nán de / dì búshì dìyī tiān, érshì dìshí tiān.
The hardest day wasn't the first — it was the tenth.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Keeping Up Running
大衣是灰色的， 而 且比我想的小得多。
dà yī / yì shì huīsè de / dì, érqiě bǐ wǒ xiǎng de / dì xiǎo deduō.
The coat was grey, and much smaller than I'd expected.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · Shopping Online
最难的不是搬， 而 是决定什么东西要扔。
zuì nán de / dì búshì bān, érshì juédìng shénme dōngxī yāo rēng.
The hard part wasn't the carrying — it was deciding what to throw away.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · Moving House
后来我慢慢发现，休息以后我做事反 而 更快了。
hòulái wǒ mànmàn fāxiàn, xiūxi yǐhòu wǒ zuòshì fǎn'ér gèng / gēng kuài le / liǎo / liào.
Then I gradually noticed that after resting I actually worked faster.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Facing Pressure
四年里说了那么多话，最后十分钟反 而 说不出来。
sìnián lǐ shuōle nàme duō huà, zuìhòu shífēn zhōng fǎn'ér shuō bùchū lái.
Four years of talking, and in the last ten minutes we couldn't manage anything.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Saying Goodbye
Words that contain 而
Each of these has sentences of its own, so you can see the character doing a different job in each one.
Questions about 而
How is 而 used in a sentence?
This page shows 14 sentences using 而 (ér, "And (but)"), each with pinyin, an English translation and audio. Every one of them was written by hand for this site.
Are these sentences machine generated?
No. They come from the site's own dictionary examples, graded readers, travel phrasebook and grammar library — all written by a person. A word with no sentence gets no page here, rather than a page of invented ones.
Why do some sentences show 而 inside a longer word?
Because that is where a single character usually lives. Seeing 而 inside the words it builds is how the character stops being an isolated symbol and starts being something you can read.
Is 而 an HSK word?
Yes — 而 is on the official HSK 4 vocabulary list, and you can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 4 page.
Where can I see the full entry for 而?
The dictionary page for 而 has its stroke order, its traditional form, every sense the dictionary lists and a character-by-character breakdown. It is linked at the top of this page.
Keep going
Read the full entry for 而, write a sentence of your own and check it in the Pinyin Annotator, drill it with HSK 4 flashcards, or search the whole sentence bank for another word.
Another word
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