越 yuè — 越来越 — more and more, increasingly

Meanings

1. 1

   越来越 — more and more, increasingly

   Change over time. 越来越 goes straight in front of an adjective or a mental verb — 越来越好, 越来越喜欢 — and it already contains the "more", so no 很 and no 更 may join it.

   adverb
2. 2

   越…越… — the more …, the more …

   adverb

   Each 越 stands before its own verb or adjective: 越说越快, the more he talks the faster he gets. The two halves belong to the same subject, and neither takes 很.

Example sentences

• 他的汉语越来越好了。/他的漢語越來越好了。Tā (first tone, high and level) de (neutral tone) Hànyǔ (fourth tone, falling) yuèláiyuè (fourth tone, falling) hǎo (third tone, dipping) le. (neutral tone)···

  His Chinese is getting better and better.

• 他越说越快，我听不懂。/他越說越快，我聽不懂。Tā (first tone, high and level) yuè (fourth tone, falling) shuō (first tone, high and level) yuè (fourth tone, falling) kuài, (fourth tone, falling) wǒ (third tone, dipping) tīng (first tone, high and level) bù (fourth tone, falling) dǒng. (third tone, dipping)···

  The more he talks the faster he goes — I can’t follow.

Common mistakes

• Not quite他越来越很高。

  Correct他越来越高。

  越来越 is itself the degree word, and Chinese allows only one. 很, 非常 and 更 are all shut out of the slot it occupies.

• Not quite天气越冷。

  Correct天气越来越冷。

  A single 越 is never enough. Either double it — 越…越… — or use the fixed 越来越 when only one thing is changing.

Similar words