ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY
并
and; moreover; side by side
bìng
6 strokes · two 立 figures merged — people standing shoulder to shoulder · HSK 3
Where 并 comes from
Two people standing side by side, drawn as one glyph. Standing together became joining together: combine, and the connective 'moreover, and'.
并 in Chinese culture
并且 'moreover' links clauses; 合并 merge (companies do it, files do it). The subtle star: 并不 'really not' — 我并不累 pushes back on what you assumed: 'I'm not actually tired.'
Example
并且 bìngqiě — moreover
我并不喜欢咖啡。
Wǒ bìng bù xǐhuan kāfēi.
I don't actually like coffee.
How to remember it
Two figures SIDE BY SIDE — joined: AND, MOREOVER.
并 turns a plain negative into a rebuttal: 不累 'not tired' vs 并不累 'contrary to what you think — not tired'.
Same sound, different tones
Words unlocked by 并
并且 bìngqiě
moreover
合并 hébìng
to merge
Related characters
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