Both… and…: 既…又／也…
Two qualities or actions held by the same subject at once. 既 sits after the subject, the second half takes 又 or 也, and A and B must be the same kind of thing.
Structure
主语 + 既 + A，又／也 + B（A、B 同类）
Explanation
Chinese words in this text can be activated to show a dictionary gloss.
“This room is both clean and quiet.” …… joins two predicates that describe the same subject, and it presents them as equally true at the same time. It is the written, slightly more formal relative of ……, and it can carry longer pieces: ， “Doing it this way saves both time and money.”
The second half takes either or , never both. stresses that the two qualities sit side by side; adds the second as one more fact on top of the first, which is why it is the usual choice when B is a whole verb phrase or a sentence: ， “He is my teacher and also my friend.”
Two rules keep the frame grammatical. , and are all adverbs, so they follow the subject and stand directly before the predicate: ，, never . And A and B must be parallel — two adjectives, two verb phrases with the same modal, two phrases. cannot replace here, because joins nouns, not predicates.
On the HSK 4 paper the frame turns up in cloze items that offer , , and side by side; the tell is a already printed earlier in the sentence, which calls for or in the gap.
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.
这个房间既干净又安静。這個房間既乾淨又安靜。
Zhège (fourth tone, falling) fángjiān (second tone, rising) jì (fourth tone, falling) gānjìng (first tone, high and level) yòu (fourth tone, falling) ānjìng. (first tone, high and level)···
This room is both clean and quiet.
他既是我的老师，也是我的朋友。他既是我的老師，也是我的朋友。
Tā (first tone, high and level) jì (fourth tone, falling) shì (fourth tone, falling) wǒ (third tone, dipping) de (neutral tone) lǎoshī, (third tone, dipping) yě (third tone, dipping) shì (fourth tone, falling) wǒ (third tone, dipping) de (neutral tone) péngyou. (second tone, rising)···
He is my teacher and also my friend.
这样做既能节约时间，又能节约钱。這樣做既能節約時間，又能節約錢。
Zhèyàng (fourth tone, falling) zuò (fourth tone, falling) jì (fourth tone, falling) néng (second tone, rising) jiéyuē (second tone, rising) shíjiān, (second tone, rising) yòu (fourth tone, falling) néng (second tone, rising) jiéyuē (second tone, rising) qián. (second tone, rising)···
Doing it this way saves both time and money.
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: 这个房间既干净和安静。
Correct
Correct sentence: 这个房间既干净又安静。
Why: 和 joins nouns, not adjectives or verb phrases. Once 既 opens the frame, the second half needs 又 or 也.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 既他是我的老师，也是我的朋友。
Correct
Correct sentence: 他既是我的老师，也是我的朋友。
Why: 既 is an adverb, so it follows the subject. Only conjunctions such as 虽然 or 如果 can stand in front of it.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 他既是我的老师，又也是我的朋友。
Correct
Correct sentence: 他既是我的老师，也是我的朋友。
Why: Choose one partner for 既: 又 or 也. Stacking both repeats the same job twice.
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.
又…又… and 既…又… say the same thing, and many sentences accept either: 这个房间又干净又安静 / 这个房间既干净又安静. The difference is register and reach. 又…又… is the everyday spoken form and is happiest with two short adjectives or verbs. 既…又… sounds more considered, is common in writing, and comfortably carries longer phrases with modals or objects — 既能节约时间，又能节约钱 — as well as the 既…也… variant, which 又…又… has no equivalent for.
Both this and that: 又…又… →Often confused with
Not only… but also: 不但…而且…
主语 + 不但 + A，而且 + 还／也 + B（同一主语） ｜ 不但 + 主语1 + A，而且 + 主语2 + 也 + B
More →Mini quiz
Question 1 / 3Total score: 0
Choose the word that completes 这个手机既便宜___好用。