Nǐ hǎo!

I don’t know if you have noticed that又(yòu) and 再(zài) can both be translated into English as “again”,  though they are used differently in the sentence. This time we are going to discuss how to indicate the repetition of an action or a state in Chinese.

又 indicates that the repeated action had already taken place；

再 indicates that the action is going to recur.

又(yòu) vs 再(zài)

1.又(yòu) is used to indicate the repetition of an action that has already taken
place.
⚫ 我们队又赢了。(Wǒmenduì yòu yíngle.)
Our team won again.
⚫ 他昨天没吃早饭。今天又没吃早饭。(Tā zuótiān méi chī zǎofàn. Jīntiān yòu méi chī zǎofàn.)
He did not have breakfast yesterday, and again he didn’t eat today.
Sometimes, 又 can also be used to indicate the repetition of a thing or a situation
that has not yet taken place. In this kind of situation, however, the action or the
thing involved is expected to take place according to people’s past
experience or natural law.
⚫ 明天又是星期一。(Míngtiān yòu shì xīngqí yī.)
Tomorrow will be Monday again.
2.再(zài) is used to indicate the repetition of an action that will take place in
the future.
⚫ 请再说一遍。(Qǐng zàishuō yí biàn.)
Please say it again.
⚫ 我刚才给田芳打了一个电话, 她不在家。我过会儿再打。
(Wǒ gāngcái gěi Tiánfāng dǎle yígè diànhuà, tā bú zàijiā. Wǒguò huìr zài dǎ.)
I called Tiánfāng just now, she’s not home. I’ll call her again later.
In the negative sentences, “再不、再别、再没” indicates an action which will not
be repeated again or a state which will no longer continue.
⚫ 自从 2003 年以来，我再没见过他。(Zìcóng 2003 nián yǐlái, wǒ zài méi jiànguò tā.)
I’ve never seen him again since 2003.
www.digmandarin.com
Now let’s do some practice to review. Please fill in the blanks with “又” or “再”
to complete the sentences.
1. I went there yesterday, today I don’t want to go there again.
我昨天已经去了，今天不想_____去了。(Wǒ zuótiān yǐjīng qùle, jīntiān bùxiǎng ____ qùle.)
2. She was late yesterday. Today she was late again.
她昨天来晚了，今天_____来晚了。(Tā zuótiān lái wǎnle, jīntiān_____lái wǎnle.)
3. See you next month.
我们下个月____见。(Wǒmen xià gè yuè____jiàn.)
4. I’ve called him yesterday. I won’t call him again today.
我昨天给他打过电话了，今天不______打了。
(Wǒ zuótiān gěi tā dǎguò diànhuàle, jīntiān bù ___ dǎle.)
5. It’s said you didn’t do the homework again.
听说你_____没做作业。
(Tīng shuō nǐ ____ méi zuò zuo yè.)
6. Can you please say it again?
请你____说一遍好吗？
(Qǐng nǐ____shuō yībiàn hǎo ma?)
7. The holiday is coming soon again, where do you want to go to travel?
很快______要放假了，你想去哪儿旅游？
(Hěn kuài______yào fàngjiàle, nǐ xiǎng qù nǎ’er lǚyóu?)
www.digmandarin.com
Key:
我昨天已经去了，今天不想再去了。
她昨天来晚了，今天又来晚了。
我们下个月再见。
我昨天给他打过电话了，今天不再打了。
听说你又没做作业。
请你再说一遍好吗？
很快又要放假了，你想去哪儿旅游？