Difference between word "and" and "和"

[gztiger]

I need to make a comparison between the English word "and", and the Chinese word "和". What is the similarity, and what is the difference? I searched my question before I post, so I hope you guys may be able to help me out. Thanks!

[HashiriKata]

Just to give the question a start: in English, you can say/ sing "and I love her" but you can't do that in Chinese with 和

[wedge]

I would love to get an expert's opinion on this question. I've noticed that while English speakers use the word "and" constantly, Chinese speakers don't use 和 nearly as much.

[fanglu]

But you can say "I love her and her sister" using 和

[gztiger]

Yea, is bit of confusing when I approach to this question. I was wondering, how and when. In English, you may be able to say You and I, but not I and you. While in Chinese, you can say it either way, such as 我和你， 你和我， they both works, and for English is just the vice versa. Also, you can use the word "and" to connect a sentence, which is use after a comma, but in Chinese, I don't think you can use the word 和 after the comma. Just not too sure about that.

[muyongshi]

But you can say "I love her and her sister" using 和

But it would sound "better" to say 还有. It's like the 所以 phenomenon. Foreigners overuse it. There is a kind of basic rule that 和 is usually only used to connect nouns, not verbs. Don't know if that helps. They definitely say 和 less in Chinese than we say and in English- but I think you will just have to get a feel for how it's used.

[HashiriKata]

But you can say "I love her and her sister" using 和

But don't try "I love her and her sister does too" using 和

Also some other things that are related to what I said earlier:

- "He tried and failed": "and" = "but"

-"I was late and missed the bus": "and" = "and therefore"

And therefore, never equate "and" in these sentences with 和.

[muyongshi]

Great explanation HashiriKata- exactly what I was trying to bring to the table but couldn't figure out how to do it!

[querido]

My one-word definition of 和 is "with".

While it is true that ABC via Wenlin defines 和 used as a conjunction as simply "and", when I look at the rest of the discussion I get "with".

This quote is from Wenlin, condensed and rearranged a little:

和 [hé] and; with; harmony 暖和

b.f. ①gentle; mild; moderate 温和 ②harmonious; on friendly terms 调和

◆cov. (together) with

◆n. ①sum ②peace ③〈sport〉 draw; tie

◆v. 〈sport〉 tie

◆conj. and

From 禾 hé ('grain') phonetic, and 口 (kǒu) 'mouth', signifying singing in harmony, or talking together. 口 can also be taken together with 禾 to mean plenty of 禾 grain to 口 eat, when humans have a harmonious relationship with nature. Compare 合 hé which has a similar meaning.

Think also about what is meant by "and" as a conjunction. Wenlin offers these as definitions of "and":

and conj. 和 hé, 与 yǔ, 跟 gēn; 而且 érqiě ∾conj. 和 hé; 又 yòu; 而 ér; 跟 gēn; 并 bìng; 与[與] yǔ; 而且 érqiě; 并且 bìngqiě; 及 jí; 以及 yǐjí; 及其 jíqí

Of those, 和 is the one with the shade of meaning "with". ("Jack in addition to Jill" + "with" = "Jack and Jill")

So, I find it very natural to read it as "with".