Tell me more ×
Chinese Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Chinese language. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 6 down vote favorite
1

In this dialogue:

A: 现在恢复得怎么样了？
B: 没问题了，又可以爬山了。

Why is 又 used there and not 再?

As far as I know (I might be wrong), both 再 and 又 are used for describing recurring actions, but 又 refers to actions that took place in the past and 再 refers to future actions. So in the example, 可以爬山 (I can climb mountains) seems a future event (needs to go to a mountain first).

share|improve this question
have you seen how the answers disagree? did you simply choose the one with the most upvotes? – magnetar Jan 28 '12 at 14:57
@magnetar, point taken. My mistake was rushing to select it. – dusan Jan 28 '12 at 17:57

4 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Here, "又" means: "I am able to climb mountains again".

It is not a past or future event. "又可以" here is to show ability.

It implies, "I was able to climb mountains before the (illness), and I've now recovered, and I am able to climb mountains again".

share|improve this answer
+1 if i understand you right, the nuance here is that 又 is adding emphasis, right? – magnetar Jan 28 '12 at 14:54
Now that you mentioned it, I think it can be treated as adding emphasis. – fefe Jan 29 '12 at 13:15
up vote 3 down vote

This 又 "yòu" is more like "also" in this example. "I'm all right now, and I can climb mountains, too."

Probably most similar to the "yòu... yòu..." (both...and...) pattern.

share|improve this answer
I don't think this has anything to do with "also". – fefe Jan 25 '12 at 0:50
-1 this answer seems to disagree with the consensus by the native speakers on here. – magnetar Jan 28 '12 at 14:55
Answers given to learners of Chinese are useful when they allow the learner to make the right word choice. I think that thinking of this structure in this way does that. – Terry Waltz Feb 4 '12 at 18:45
up vote 3 down vote

In my opinion,

  • 再 foresees the future, as in 再见.

  • 又 emphasis 'once more', as in "又可以爬山了"

share|improve this answer
+1 that's the way it feels to me. i am not a native speaker though. but in classical it seems to have this meaning, as in 玄之又玄 – magnetar Jan 28 '12 at 14:52
up vote 2 down vote

又 has the connotation of "there you go again." That is, of repeating a PAST action in the present.

再 is anticipatory: That is, planning to repeat a present action in the FUTRE. 再见, used for "good-bye," literally means "see you AGAIN," (soon). It is the equivalent of the French au revoir or the German auf Wiedersehen.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.