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Level Proficient Chinese · HSK 7–9

Register: Spoken and Written Words, Officialese, 致使, Verb + 于 and New Words

At C2 the question is rarely 'is this grammatical?' and usually 'does this fit?'. Chinese has a wide gap between spoken (口语) and written (书面语) vocabulary, and a third, even more formal register in official documents (公文). Mixing them is the commonest flaw in advanced learners' writing.

Spoken and written pairs

Many everyday verbs have a two-character written counterpart: 买 / 购买 (buy), 看 / 观看 (watch), 帮 / 帮助 (help), 用 / 使用 (use), 找 / 寻找 (look for). Written prose also uses single classical characters inside fixed patterns: 购 (buy), 需 (need), 须 (must), 获 (obtain), 均 (all), 仍 (still), 甚 (very): 需提前预约, 获一等奖, 甚少.

Two-character written verbs often can't take a one-character object and vice versa: 购买商品 but 买东西.

SpokenWrittenMeaning
买购买 / 购buy
要需要 / 需need
得获得 / 获obtain, win
都均all
还仍 / 仍然still
很甚very

  • 游客可在网上购票。

    Yóukè kě zài wǎngshàng gòu piào.

    Visitors can buy tickets online.

  • 参观需提前三天预约。

    Cānguān xū tíqián sān tiān yùyuē.

    Visits must be booked three days in advance.

Official notices: 兹, 特此, 届时

Official documents (公文, gōngwén) have fixed openings and closings: 兹 (zī, hereby, now) opens: 兹定于… (it has been decided that…). 特此通知 (tècǐ tōngzhī, notice is hereby given) closes. 届时 (jièshí, at that time) refers to a scheduled event. 拟 (nǐ, plan to) and 系 (xì, is) appear in announcements: 本公司拟于下月… .

  • 兹定于五月十日召开全体员工大会，届时请准时出席。特此通知。

    Zī dìng yú wǔ yuè shí rì zhàokāi quántǐ yuángōng dàhuì, jièshí qǐng zhǔnshí chūxí. Tècǐ tōngzhī.

    A general staff meeting will be held on 10 May. Please attend punctually. Notice is hereby given.

Cause verbs and verb + 于

Cause verbs differ in register and colouring. 导致 (dǎozhì, lead to) and 致使 (zhìshǐ, cause) usually introduce bad results; 引发 (yǐnfā, trigger) is for events and debates; 促成 (cùchéng, bring about) and 促进 (cùjìn, promote) are positive; 造成 (zàochéng, cause) is mostly negative.

Verb + 于 compounds are compact written verbs: 有助于 (helpful for), 致力于 (devoted to), 得益于 (thanks to), 源于 (originate from), 在于 (lie in), 有利于 (beneficial to). The object follows directly.

  • 长期熬夜会导致免疫力下降。

    Chángqī áo yè huì dǎozhì miǎnyìlì xiàjiàng.

    Staying up late for long periods leads to weaker immunity.

  • 这项研究有助于我们了解气候变化。

    Zhè xiàng yánjiū yǒuzhùyú wǒmen liǎojiě qìhòu biànhuà.

    This research helps us understand climate change.

  • 该组织多年来致力于保护野生动物。

    Gāi zǔzhī duō nián lái zhìlìyú bǎohù yěshēng dòngwù.

    The organisation has been dedicated to protecting wildlife for many years.

New words and abbreviations

New words are made by compounding existing morphemes (网 + 购 = 网购, online shopping), adding productive affixes (-化 -ize, -性 -ness, 超- super-, -族 tribe, as in 上班族, office workers), and abbreviating long names by taking key characters: 高速铁路 → 高铁, 北京大学 → 北大, 环境保护 → 环保. Numerical slogans compress policies: 双减 (the 'double reduction' of homework and tutoring).

  • 坐高铁从北京到上海只要四个多小时。

    Zuò gāotiě cóng Běijīng dào Shànghǎi zhǐ yào sì ge duō xiǎoshí.

    The high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai takes just over four hours.

  • 现在越来越多的人选择网购。

    Xiànzài yuè lái yuè duō de rén xuǎnzé wǎnggòu.

    More and more people now choose to shop online.

Common mistakes

  • ✗我昨天去超市购买了一点儿东西。

    ✓我昨天去超市买了点儿东西。

    Wǒ zuótiān qù chāoshì mǎile diǎnr dōngxi.

    购买 is written style; with spoken words like 一点儿东西 it clashes. Keep a sentence in one register.

  • ✗他的努力导致了成功。

    ✓他的努力促成了这次成功。

    Tā de nǔlì cùchéngle zhè cì chénggōng.

    导致 and 致使 carry a negative colouring. For a good result, use 促成, 带来 or 使…成功.

  • ✗运动有助于对健康。

    ✓运动有助于健康。

    Yùndòng yǒuzhùyú jiànkāng.

    于 already plays the role of the preposition; the object follows directly.

Questions learners ask

How can I tell which register a word belongs to?

Single classical characters (需, 获, 均) and formal two-character verbs (购买, 使用) are written; monosyllabic everyday verbs (买, 用) are spoken. A good learner's dictionary marks 〈书〉 for written and 〈口〉 for spoken.

Is 系 the same as 是?

In official and legal writing, yes: 系 (xì) means 'is'. 此事系谣言 (this is a rumour).

Practice this in lessons

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