和 means 'and', and so does 而. What is the difference between the two. I also know that 而 means 'but', and the second question is what is the difference between 而 and 但. Give me an example sentence, please.
3 Answers
When you use 而, you are always expressing some kind of adversative meaning weaker than 但. Most of the time they can substitute each other but not 100% certain.
Example 1: both are fine
这件事很难,而那件事很容易。 => This thing is difficult while that one is easy.
这件事很难,但那件事很容易。 => This thing is difficult but that one is easy.
Example 2: 而 is better here
他没有出国,而是留在了国内。 => He stayed in home country instead of going abroad.
Example 3: 但 is better
这杯水不甜,但富含营养。 => This cup of water is not sweet but full of nutrition.
The differencies are subtle, taste them in more practice.
It's clearer to distinguish 而 from 和. Remember 和 has no adversative meaning, and in most cases it connects objects:
Tom and Jerry are good friends.
Correct: 汤姆和杰瑞是好朋友。
Wrong: 汤姆而杰瑞是好朋友。
The corresponding is:
and<->和
while<->而
but<->但
when they are used as conjunction. One want to give a comparison when he use 而.
和 and 而 can be substituted occasionally when 而 connects two adjectives or verbs, but it is not very natural. I'd think it is similar to the words "and" in English, or other European language. Some examples:
她堅強而果斷的態度十分吸引人=》她堅強和果斷的態度十分吸引人。
他們堅持和推進了問題的解決=》他們堅持而(而且)推進了問題的解決
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Can you tidy up your answer a bit? Get rid of the random punctuations; correct the misspellings and grammar; expand on your answer a bit more. Jul 29, 2013 at 22:45
besides / furthermore / (not only ...) but also
.