遍 and 次

[yakeyglee]

I have seen both of these characters translated as "time" in the sense that you do something one more time. What is the distinction in usage of the two characters?

[chaiknees]

Both indicate frequency. 次 can be used for any kind of action. 遍 only for actions which are performed from beginning to end (e.g. watching movie, but cannot be used for "gave him a call three times but he did not answer" or "took the bus two times").

[small tree]

实际上说：给他打了三遍电话 也是完全可以的 对于一个native Chinese来讲 这样说不会有任何不妥 并且中国人也常常这样说。

对于你说的“遍”表示一个动作从头做到尾 我表示很赞成 这样解释很好。

比如：

这个电影我看过三遍了 i have watched the movie for three times//every time i watched it from beginning to end

这个电影我看过三次了 i have watched the movie for three times//maybe i just watched the beginning for one or two times.

[xiaocai]

I think it may depend on the verb as well. Some verbs such as 看 and 打(电话) can be followed by both 次 and 遍, whereas some others such as 去(某地) usually can be only used with one of them. So maybe the difference is as what chaiknees has mentioned that if the action is not continuous (i.e. the duration of the action described by the verb is not somehow measurable), then only 次 can be used, otherwise both would be okay.

I know it is a bad explanation as my knowledge of grammar is far from professional and my vocabulary is very limited when it comes to grammatical terms. I will try to give some examples to support my hypothesis then.

我(已经)考过两次试(了) (I have taken two exams) (well, have taken exams for twice literally) sounds alright, but 考过两遍试 does sound strange to me, and this could be because of that 考试 (to take exams) is normally not a "continuous verb" in Chinese.

But 这首歌我听过好几次 and 这首歌我听过好几遍 (I have listened to this song quite a few times) are both acceptable since the verb 听 (to listen) may imply a continuous state of listening as well.