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HSK 6 grammar · adverb

便

便 — then / thereupon (formal 就)

Pattern

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( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after

How it works

In formal or written Chinese, 便 works like 就 — it links two events so the second follows at once or as a natural result ("then", "thereupon"). It sits after the subject and before the verb, and sounds more literary than 就.

Examples

他说完便走了。
Tā shuō wán biàn zǒu le.
He finished speaking and then left.
天一亮,我们便出发了。
Tiān yí liàng, wǒmen biàn chūfā le.
As soon as it was light, we set off.
只要努力,便会成功。
Zhǐyào nǔlì, biàn huì chénggōng.
As long as you work hard, you will succeed.

Related

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See it in a story

In the app, 便 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.