Grammar · 语法 yǔfǎ

跟

gēn

One small word that follows, accompanies, and joins. 跟 starts as the verb "to follow", widens into the coverb "with", and finishes as the conjunction "and", the colloquial workhorse beside its tidier cousins 和, 同, and 与.

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字源 zìyuán Etymology & Structure

字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight

跟 gēn is built from 足 zú (foot, in its left-side form ⻊) beside 艮 gèn, which supplies the sound. Its first, concrete meaning is the part of the body it pictures: the heel (脚跟 jiǎogēn, "heel of the foot"). From the heel comes the verb "to follow", since to follow is to keep at someone's heels, and from following comes accompaniment, "with".

This is a common path in Chinese: a verb of accompaniment thins into a coverb ("with") and then into a bare conjunction ("and"). 跟 walks that whole road, which is why a single character can mean "follow", "with", and "and" depending on what stands around it. The related 和 hé and 同 tóng made similar journeys, so the four words 跟, 和, 同, 与 cluster as near-synonyms split mainly by register.

跟 gēn Follow, With, And

跟 (verb) gēn to follow; to go along with

动词 dòngcí

The original, concrete sense: to follow or keep up with someone. 跟我来 ("follow me"), 跟上 ("keep up, catch up"), 跟着 ("following along"). This verb sense is 跟 at its most physical, one person at another's heels, and it is the meaning the other two grow out of.

你跟我来，我带你去。

Nǐ gēn wǒ lái, wǒ dài nǐ qù.

Follow me, I'll take you there.

走快点，跟上！

Zǒu kuài diǎn, gēn shàng!

Walk faster, keep up!

跟 (coverb) gēn with (someone); to / toward (in speech)

介词 jiècí

As a coverb, 跟 marks the person an action is done with or directed toward: 跟朋友吃饭 ("eat with friends"), 跟老师商量 ("discuss it with the teacher"). With verbs of speaking it means "to": 跟他说 ("tell him / talk to him"). The 跟 phrase comes before the main verb, never after, which is the heart of coverb word order.

我想跟你商量一件事。

Wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ shāngliang yí jiàn shì.

I'd like to discuss something with you.

别跟我开玩笑。

Bié gēn wǒ kāi wánxiào.

Don't joke with me.

跟 (conjunction) gēn and (joining nouns)

连词 liáncí

Between two nouns, 跟 simply means "and": 我跟他 ("he and I"), 茶跟咖啡 ("tea and coffee"). Note that this conjunction joins nouns, not whole clauses, so it never translates the sentence-linking "and" of "I came and sat down". For that, Chinese uses other devices. To join nouns, 跟 and 和 are the everyday choices.

我跟我的同事都喜欢这家店。

Wǒ gēn wǒ de tóngshì dōu xǐhuan zhè jiā diàn.

My colleague and I both like this shop.

用法 yòngfǎ Patterns — 一起, 说, 一样

跟 in use · the core patterns 跟 + Person + 一起 + Verb , 跟朋友一起去 · go together with a friend
跟 + Person + 说 / 讲 , 跟他说 · tell him / talk to him
跟 + A + 一样 , 跟你一样 · the same as you
跟 + A + 不一样 , 跟以前不一样 · different from before
跟着 + Verb , 跟着唱 · sing along (following)

跟 … 一起 gēn … yìqǐ together with

The most common 跟 frame for company. 跟 names the companion, 一起 ("together") seals the joint action: 我跟家人一起过年 ("I spend New Year together with my family"). The 一起 is often optional but makes the togetherness explicit. This pairing is so frequent that 跟…一起 functions almost as a single unit meaning "along with".

周末我跟同学一起去爬山。

Zhōumò wǒ gēn tóngxué yìqǐ qù páshān.

On the weekend I go hiking together with classmates.

跟 … 一样 gēn … yíyàng the same as

To state likeness, 跟 introduces the standard of comparison and 一样 ("the same") completes it: 这件衣服跟那件一样 ("this garment is the same as that one"). Add an adjective for a degree comparison: 跟你一样高 ("as tall as you"). Negate the 一样 for difference: 现在跟以前不一样了 ("things are different now from before").

他的想法跟我完全一样。

Tā de xiǎngfǎ gēn wǒ wánquán yíyàng.

His thinking is exactly the same as mine.

辨析 biànxī 跟 · 和 · 同 · 与

辨析 biànxī · Distinguishing the Words

Four words share the "with / and" space, and they line up mostly by register. 跟 gēn is the most colloquial and the most northern, the natural choice in casual speech: 我跟你说 ("let me tell you"). 和 hé is the neutral default, slightly more written, the form textbooks lead with: 我和你 ("you and I"). 同 tóng is a touch formal, common in writing and fixed expressions. 与 yǔ is distinctly literary, the "and" of titles, headlines, and classical prose: 《老人与海》("The Old Man and the Sea"). In speech, 跟 and 和 carry almost everything.

Two practical notes. First, only 跟 keeps a live verb sense "to follow" (跟我来), which 和 and 与 never have, so when you mean follow, 跟 is your word. Second, as a coverb of speech ("talk to"), 跟…说 and 和…说 both work, with 跟 sounding more conversational; 对…说 is a third option that leans one-way ("say to"). For the everyday triad of accompanying, addressing, and joining, reach for 跟 in speech and 和 when you want a half-step more neutrality.

成语 chéngyǔ Set Phrases

亦步亦趋 yì bù yì qū to follow every step slavishly Literally "you walk, I walk; you hurry, I hurry", from the Zhuangzi, where a disciple copies his master's every move. It paints the extreme of 跟 as "follow": imitating so closely that one has no step of one's own. Often mildly critical of mere copying.

同甘共苦 tóng gān gòng kǔ to share joys and hardships Literally "together the sweet, shared the bitter", to go through good times and bad side by side. It captures the deepest sense of 跟 as "with", a togetherness that holds through difficulty. Here 同 ("together") plays the accompanying role 跟 carries in speech.

形影不离 xíng yǐng bù lí inseparable as body and shadow Literally "form and shadow do not part", said of two people always together. It is the warm picture of constant company that 跟…一起 points at, two who follow each other everywhere. The 不离 ("not apart") is the very opposite of 离 ("to be distant from").