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又…又…: Two Qualities or Actions Together
Use 又…又… to combine qualities, states or actions in one description. Learn the repeated form and distinguish coordination from a claim about order, alternation or precise simultaneity.
今天我又冷又累。
Read the full explanation and examples
Meaning: two qualities or actions in one account
又…又… coordinates qualities, states or actions presented together in one account. It often means “both…and…” or “…as well as…”. A room can be 又亮又干净, while a person can 又唱又跳 or 又要工作又要照顾孩子. The latter combine actions or duties; the construction does not by itself specify their exact time relation.
今天我又冷又累。
Here, both 冷 and 累 describe the speaker’s condition today. The pattern can describe favorable, unfavorable, or mixed qualities; it does not itself signal praise or criticism.
Form and word choice
A useful frame is subject + 又 + predicate A + 又 + predicate B. Both can be adjectives, as with a bright, clean room, or verb phrases, as with working and caring for children. Keep their roles parallel and make the shared topic clear. A comma is useful for longer phrases but is not required between two short adjectives.
- Use the pattern to combine related descriptions: a room can be bright and clean; a person can be friendly and helpful.
- The two qualities need not be identical in tone. Choose qualities that make sense together in the context.
- The subject may be understood from the preceding conversation when it is already clear.
这个房间又亮又干净。
她又友好又热心。
When it sounds natural
Use it for an overall description or a list of activities or obligations. The second part adds a further relevant feature, not necessarily a more important one. The words can describe positive, negative or mixed content. A tense or aspect reading must come from the whole sentence, not from the repeated 又 alone.
这家饭馆的菜又便宜又好吃。
最近我又要工作，又要照顾孩子。
Contrast with time and action patterns
Compare what each frame foregrounds. 又…又… adds two relevant predicates together. 一会儿…一会儿… emphasizes switching over time; 一边…一边… emphasizes doing activities concurrently. 又唱又跳 may describe someone singing and dancing, but the coordination itself is not a guarantee of perfectly simultaneous timing. Use the time-focused pattern when that relation is the point.
- Ask whether both parts describe the same subject. If yes, 又……，又…… may fit.
- Ask whether the sentence instead means “sometimes …, sometimes …”; that is a time-based contrast.
- Ask whether it means “do one action while doing another”; that is a simultaneous-action meaning.
Frequently asked questions
Do both parts have to describe the same subject?
A shared subject or situation is common. It may have two qualities or perform two actions. The construction is not limited to adjectives; make the common topic and the relation of the predicates clear.
Can I use this pattern in a question?
Yes. For example, 这个房间是不是又亮又干净？ asks whether the combined description is true. 又…又… coordinates the qualities; 是不是 supplies the question.
Does 又……，又…… imply that the description is positive?
No. It can connect positive, negative, or mixed qualities. The words and context convey the evaluation.
