跟 gēn

跟 links things together — it can mean “and” (joining two nouns or two matching activities) or “with” (doing something together with someone). Same character, two different jobs depending on what’s on either side of it.

一跟 as “And”

Similar to 和 (hé). Use it to join two nouns, or two matching “verb + object” activities — but the two sides have to be the same type of thing.

Noun A + 跟 + Noun B / Activity A + 跟 + Activity B

他tā跟gēn我wǒ是shì同事tóngshì

He and I are colleagues.

我wǒ喜欢xǐhuan兔子tùzi、鸟niǎo、猫māo跟gēn狗gǒu

I like rabbits, birds, cats, and dogs.

跟 only goes before the last item in a list — the earlier items are just separated with a dun comma (、).

你nǐ跟gēn你nǐ爸爸bàba都dōu会huì说shuō英文yīngwén吗ma？

Do you and your dad both speak English?

爸爸bàba跟gēn妈妈māma的de生日shēngrì都dōu在zài三月sānyuè

Both dad and mom have their birthdays in March.

我wǒ要yào买mǎi一杯yìbēi咖啡kāfēi跟gēn一块yíkuài蛋糕dàngāo

I want to buy a cup of coffee and a piece of cake.

他tā周末zhōumò常常chángcháng在zài家jiā听tīng音乐yīnyuè跟gēn看kàn电视diànshì

On weekends he often listens to music and watches TV at home.

Here 跟 joins two full “verb + object” activities, not just two nouns.

我wǒ要yào喝hē这个zhège跟gēn那个nàge

I want to drink this one and that one.

那个 (nàge / nèige) is an extremely common filler word in casual Chinese — a bit like saying “um” or “uh” while you think of what to say next. Some English speakers notice it sounds close to an English slur and find it jarring at first, but it’s a completely ordinary, everyday word to Chinese speakers, who generally aren’t even aware of the resemblance.

二跟 as “With”

When 跟 means “with” — doing something together with someone — it’s often paired with 一起yìqǐ (“together”). To negate it, put 不 in front of 跟 itself, not in front of the main verb.

(不) + 跟 + Person + (一起) + Verb

你nǐ要yào跟gēn朋友péngyǒu去qù中国Zhōngguó吗ma？

Do you want to go to China with friends?

我wǒ不bù跟gēn他tā看kàn电影diànyǐng

I don’t watch movies with him.

我wǒ要yào跟gēn她tā结婚jiéhūn

I want to marry her.

但dàn她tā不bù想xiǎng跟gēn你nǐ结婚jiéhūn

But she doesn’t want to marry you.

三 Common Mistakes

❌ 我們wǒmen去qù餐廳cāntīng餐厅cāntīng跟gēn吃chī飯fàn饭fàn

✅ 我們wǒmen去qù餐廳cāntīng餐厅cāntīng跟gēn咖啡店kāfēidiàn / 我們wǒmen去qù吃chī飯fàn饭fàn跟gēn喝hē咖啡kāfēi

The two sides of 跟 have to match — either two places (“restaurant and cafe”) or two full activities (“eat and drink coffee”). “Go to a restaurant” and a bare “eat” don’t match each other.

❌ 我wǒ喜歡xǐhuān喜欢xǐhuan狗gǒu跟gēn我wǒ弟弟dìdi喜歡xǐhuān喜欢xǐhuan貓māo猫māo

✅ 我wǒ跟gēn我wǒ弟弟dìdi喜歡xǐhuān喜欢xǐhuan狗gǒu / 我wǒ喜歡xǐhuān喜欢xǐhuan狗gǒu，可是kěshì我wǒ弟弟dìdi喜歡xǐhuān喜欢xǐhuan貓māo猫māo

跟 can’t connect two full clauses that each have their own subject. Either combine the subjects with 跟 (if it’s the same verb), or use 可是 (“but”) to contrast two separate clauses.

❌ 我wǒ想xiǎng去qù旅行lǚxíng旅行lǚxíng跟gēn你nǐ

✅ 我wǒ想xiǎng跟gēn你nǐ去qù旅行lǚxíng旅行lǚxíng

跟 meaning “with” goes before the verb, not tacked on at the end of the sentence.

四 Practice

Tap the words below in the right order to build the sentence, then check your answer. If it’s wrong, you can try again as many times as you like — or hit “Show answer” if you get stuck.

Question 1 of 10

“My mom and I are both teachers.”