而 (ér) means And (but). Below are 24 of the 62 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
仪式简单 而 庄重。
Yíshì jiǎndān ér zhuāngzhòng.
The ceremony was simple and solemn.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 仪式
不要妄想不劳 而 获。
Bú yào wàngxiǎng bù láo ér huò.
Do not vainly hope for gain without effort.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 妄想
雨没停，反 而 下大了。
Yǔ méi tíng, fǎn'ér xià dà le.
The rain did not stop; it got heavier instead.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 反而
幸福的定义因人 而 异。
Xìngfú de dìngyì yīn rén ér yì.
The definition of happiness differs from person to person.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 定义
我只是随口说说 而 已。
Wǒ zhǐshì suíkǒu shuōshuo éryǐ.
I was only saying it casually, that's all.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 而已
这不过是个开始 而 已。
Zhè búguò shì ge kāishǐ éryǐ.
This is nothing more than a beginning.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 而已
他的文字朴实 而 有力。
Tā de wénzì pǔshí ér yǒulì.
His writing is plain but powerful.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 朴实
他时 而 抬头看看窗外。
Tā shí'ér táitóu kànkan chuāng wài.
Now and then he looked up out of the window.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 时而
不要为了虚荣 而 超支。
Bú yào wèile xūróng ér chāozhī.
Do not overspend out of vanity.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 虚荣
他的致辞简短 而 有力。
Tā de zhìcí jiǎnduǎn ér yǒulì.
His speech was short and forceful.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 致辞
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
读书的重要性不言 而 喻。
Dúshū de zhòngyàoxìng bùyán'éryù.
The importance of reading goes without saying.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 不言而喻
他的左腿因受伤 而 麻痹。
Tā de zuǒ tuǐ yīn shòushāng ér mábì.
His left leg is paralysed from the injury.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 麻痹
这些说法只是迷信 而 已。
Zhèxiē shuōfǎ zhǐshì míxìn éryǐ.
These claims are nothing but superstition.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 迷信
锲 而 不舍才能有所成就。
Qiè'érbùshě cái néng yǒu suǒ chéngjiù.
Only by persevering can one achieve anything.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 锲而不舍
他的爱是深沉 而 无声的。
Tā de ài shì shēnchén ér wúshēng de.
His love is deep and silent.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 深沉
吃了药，他反 而 更难受了。
Chī le yào, tā fǎn'ér gèng nánshòu le.
After taking the medicine he felt worse instead.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 反而
Reading these is one thing; producing 而 yourself is another. Cloze in Context takes a sentence from this same bank, removes one word and asks you to put it back — beginner, intermediate and advanced.
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 yào 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
而 appears in 62 sentences on this site; the 24 shortest and most direct are shown. The rest are on the pages they were written for — the graded readers, the phrasebook and the grammar library.
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 62 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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