In Chinese, conjunctions are used to connect words or concepts.
To connect two or more nouns, the conjunctions “和 hé (and)” and “或 huò (or)” can be used.
桌子和椅子 zhuōzi hé yǐzi (table and chair)
你和我 nǐ hé wǒ (you and me)
学生和老师 xuéshēng hé lǎoshī (students and teachers)
兔子、猫和狗 tùzǐ, māo hé gǒu (rabbits, cats and dogs)
老板、同事和我 lǎobǎn, tóngshì hé wǒ (boss, colleagues and me)
手机或电脑 Shǒujī huò diànnǎo (mobile phone or computer)
公交车或地铁 gōngjiāo chē huò dìtiě (bus or subway)
裙子或裤子 qúnzi huò kùzi (skirt or pants)
可乐、啤酒或茶 Kělè, píjiǔ huò chá (coke, beer or tea Email)
邮箱、电话或微信 yóuxiāng, diànhuà huò wēixìn (phone or WeChat)
Other Chinese terms for “and” that are used similarly to “和 hé” include “跟 gēn,” “同 tóng,” and “与 yǔ”.
For example:
同事跟老板 tóngshì gēn lǎobǎn
(colleagues and boss)
哥哥同弟弟 gēgē tóng dìdì
(elder brother with younger brother)
科技与教育 kējì yǔ jiàoyù
(technology and Education)
In everyday speech, the words “小 xiǎo (little)” and “老 lǎo (old)” are prefixed to surnames and occasionally given names. The usual implication of “小 xiǎo (little)” and “老 lǎo (old)” denotes a difference in age between the speaker and the addressee.
小王是我们公司年纪最小的员工。
Xiǎo Wáng shì wǒmen gōngsī niánjì zuìxiǎo de yuángōng.
(Little Wang is our company’s youngest employee.)
小王Xiǎo Wáng(Little Wang) is younger than the speaker.
老陈在我们公司工作了近10年。
Lǎo Chén zài wǒmen gōngsī gōng zuò le jìn 10 nián.
(Old Chen has worked in our company for nearly ten years.)
老陈Lǎo Chén(Old Chen) is older than the speaker.
The conjunctions 和 hé (跟 gēn, 同 tóng, and 与 yǔ) means “and” and 或 huò, which means “or” cannot link clauses together. These Chinese conjunctions are only used to connect words or expressions.
All the examples below are incorrect:
我想喝咖啡和她想喝茶。
Wǒ xiǎng hē kāfēi hé tā xiǎng hē chá.
(I want coffee and she wants tea.)
我是秘书和他是经理。
Wǒ shì mìshū hé tā shì jīnglǐ.
(I am the secretary and he is the manager.)
我坐地铁或他坐公交。
Wǒ zuò dìtiě huò tā zuò gōngjiāo.
(I take the subway or he takes the bus.)
他喜欢看演唱会或他女朋友想逛街。
Tā xǐhuān kàn yǎnchàng huì huò tā nǚ péngyǒu xiǎng guàngjiē.
(He likes to watch a concert or his girlfriend wants to go shopping.)
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