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Level Upper-Intermediate Chinese · HSK 4

Change, Trends and Amounts: 随着, 逐渐, 纷纷, 倍, 分之 and Exact Comparisons

Reports, news and presentations all describe change: things growing, spreading, getting cheaper. This guide collects the words for how something changes, how fast, and by how much.

随着 and gradual change

随着 (suízhe) + noun phrase means 'as, along with': it introduces a background change that causes another. 随着经济的发展，人们的生活越来越好 (as the economy develops, people's lives keep improving). It goes at the start of the sentence and is followed by a noun phrase, often with 的.

逐渐 (zhújiàn) and 渐渐 (jiànjiàn) both mean 'gradually' for natural change; 逐渐 is a little more formal and typical of reports, while 渐渐 is descriptive and typical of stories (天渐渐黑了). 逐步 (zhúbù) is 'step by step' for planned change: 逐步推广 (roll out gradually). 迅速 (xùnsù) is 'rapidly'.

  • 随着手机的普及，网上购物越来越方便。

    Suízhe shǒujī de pǔjí, wǎngshàng gòuwù yuè lái yuè fāngbiàn.

    As smartphones have spread, online shopping has become more and more convenient.

  • 天渐渐黑了。

    Tiān jiànjiàn hēi le.

    It was slowly getting dark.

  • 政府计划逐步提高最低工资。

    Zhèngfǔ jìhuà zhúbù tígāo zuì dī gōngzī.

    The government plans to raise the minimum wage step by step.

纷纷 and 陆续

纷纷 (fēnfēn) means 'one after another, in large numbers', for many people or things doing the same thing: 大家纷纷表示支持 (people expressed their support one after another). 陆续 (lùxù) means 'in succession, a few at a time': 客人陆续到了 (the guests arrived in ones and twos).

Both describe plural subjects only.

  • 消息传开后，网友纷纷留言。

    Xiāoxi chuánkāi hòu, wǎngyǒu fēnfēn liúyán.

    Once the news spread, people online flocked to comment.

  • 同学们陆续走进了教室。

    Tóngxuémen lùxù zǒujìnle jiàoshì.

    The students came into the classroom one after another.

倍, 分之, exact comparisons and location

倍 (bèi) means 'times': 是…的两倍 (twice as much as). With a change verb, 了 means 'by' and 到 means 'to': 增加了一倍 (grew by one times) and 增加到两倍 (grew to twice the size) both mean 'doubled', so strictly 增加了两倍 means it is now three times as much. Everyday speech blurs this, but reports and exams keep it.

Fractions put the whole first: 三分之一 (sān fēn zhī yī, one third), 百分之二十 (twenty per cent).

With 比, the exact difference goes after the adjective: 他比我高五厘米 (he's five centimetres taller than me), 贵一倍 (twice the price).

位于 (wèiyú, be located at) and 距离 (jùlí, distance from) are written words for describing places: 学校位于市中心，距离火车站两公里.

  • 今年的销售额是去年的两倍。

    Jīnnián de xiāoshòu'é shì qùnián de liǎng bèi.

    This year's sales are twice last year's.

  • 全班三分之二的学生都通过了考试。

    Quán bān sān fēn zhī èr de xuésheng dōu tōngguòle kǎoshì.

    Two thirds of the class passed the exam.

  • 哥哥比我大三岁。

    Gēge bǐ wǒ dà sān suì.

    My brother is three years older than me.

Common mistakes

  • ✗他比我五厘米高。

    ✓他比我高五厘米。

    Tā bǐ wǒ gāo wǔ límǐ.

    The amount of difference comes after the adjective, not before it as in English.

  • ✗一分之三

    ✓三分之一

    sān fēn zhī yī

    Chinese fractions name the whole first: 'of three parts, one'.

  • ✗随着人口增加了，交通越来越堵。

    ✓随着人口的增加，交通越来越堵。

    Suízhe rénkǒu de zēngjiā, jiāotōng yuè lái yuè dǔ.

    随着 takes a noun phrase (人口的增加), not a finished clause with 了.

Questions learners ask

Does 翻一番 mean the same as 增加一倍?

Yes: both mean 'double'. 翻一番 is common in economic writing and comes back at C1.

Can 纷纷 describe one person?

No. It needs many people or things acting one after another.

Practice this in lessons

The Upper-Intermediate Chinese lessons teach this step by step, with exercises and review built in.

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