Let alone: 何况
States the harder case first and lets 何况 draw the conclusion for the easier one: if even A cannot, B certainly cannot. It also adds a clinching extra reason.
Structure
（连）A + 都／也 + …，何况 + B（呢）？ ｜ 理由一，何况 + 理由二
Explanation
Chinese words in this text can be activated to show a dictionary gloss.
，？ “Even the teacher can’t answer this — let alone us.” is an argument from the stronger case. The first clause names the person or situation most likely to succeed and says that even it fails; then points at a weaker case, and the listener draws the obvious conclusion without it being spelled out.
The first clause is very often built with …／…, because that frame already marks “even the most likely one”. The part after is short — frequently just a noun and — and the whole sentence reads as a rhetorical question: ，？ Nobody expects an answer; the answer is the point.
has a second use, common in written argument: it adds a further reason that pushes in the same direction as the first, usually the decisive one. ，， “It’s an hour on foot, and on top of that it’s raining hard — let’s take a taxi.” Here often appears with or in its clause. The added reason must support the same conclusion; a reason pointing the other way needs or .
Correct
Say each one out loud before moving on. The audio is a reference pronunciation, not a model to imitate exactly — match the tone contour, not the voice.
这个问题连老师都回答不了，何况我们呢？這個問題連老師都回答不了，何況我們呢？
Zhège (fourth tone, falling) wèntí (fourth tone, falling) lián (second tone, rising) lǎoshī (third tone, dipping) dōu (first tone, high and level) huídá (second tone, rising) bù (fourth tone, falling) liǎo, (third tone, dipping) hékuàng (second tone, rising) wǒmen (third tone, dipping) ne? (neutral tone)···
Even the teacher can’t answer this question, let alone us.
汉字连中国人都常常写错，何况外国学生？漢字連中國人都常常寫錯，何況外國學生？
Hànzì (fourth tone, falling) lián (second tone, rising) Zhōngguórén (first tone, high and level) dōu (first tone, high and level) chángcháng (second tone, rising) xiěcuò, (third tone, dipping) hékuàng (second tone, rising) wàiguó (fourth tone, falling) xuésheng? (second tone, rising)···
Even Chinese people often write characters wrongly, let alone foreign students.
走路去要一个小时，何况现在还下着大雨，我们还是打车吧。走路去要一個小時，何況現在還下著大雨，我們還是打車吧。
Zǒulù (third tone, dipping) qù (fourth tone, falling) yào (fourth tone, falling) yí (second tone, rising) ge (neutral tone) xiǎoshí, (third tone, dipping) hékuàng (second tone, rising) xiànzài (fourth tone, falling) hái (second tone, rising) xiàzhe (fourth tone, falling) dàyǔ, (fourth tone, falling) wǒmen (third tone, dipping) háishi (second tone, rising) dǎchē (third tone, dipping) ba. (neutral tone)···
It’s an hour on foot, and besides, it’s raining hard right now — let’s take a taxi.
Incorrect — Common mistakes
These sentences are wrong. They are printed here on purpose, each one paired with the repair and the reason, because the error you can recognise is the error you stop making.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 这个问题连老师都回答不了，何况我们能回答。
Correct
Correct sentence: 这个问题连老师都回答不了，何况我们呢？
Why: 何况 leaves the conclusion unsaid. Spelling it out — and spelling it out the wrong way round — breaks the frame. End with the weaker case and 呢.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 这个问题我们都回答不了，何况老师呢？
Correct
Correct sentence: 这个问题连老师都回答不了，何况我们呢？
Why: The order is fixed: the stronger case comes first, the weaker after 何况. Students failing tells you nothing about the teacher.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 走路去要一个小时，何况现在不下雨，我们还是打车吧。
Correct
Correct sentence: 走路去要一个小时，何况现在还下着大雨，我们还是打车吧。
Why: The reason added by 何况 must push towards the same conclusion. Dry weather argues for walking, so it cannot follow 何况.
Compared with
Most errors with this pattern are not errors about this pattern — they are a neighbouring pattern arriving at the wrong moment. Read these side by side.
而且 adds a point and stays neutral: 这儿房租不贵，而且离公司近 simply lists two facts. 何况 adds a point *as an argument* — it implies the first reason was already enough and the second settles the matter, which is why it usually precedes a recommendation or a rhetorical question. In the “even A, let alone B” use there is no 而且 equivalent at all: 而且 cannot carry the reasoning from the stronger case to the weaker one.
Not only… but also: 不但…而且… →Mini quiz
Question 1 / 3Total score: 0
Fill the gap: 这么简单的题，小学生都会做，___ 大学生呢？