thus ⇒ 公司决定裁员,从而削减成本。 Gōngsī juédìng cáiyuán, cóng'ér xuējiǎn chéngběn. → The company decided to lay people off, and thus reduce their costs.
反而
instead ⇒ 她不但没有平静下来,反而越来越激动。 Tā bùdàn méiyǒu píngjìng xiàlái, fǎn'ér yuèláiyuè jīdòng. → Instead of calming down, she became more and more agitated. ⇒ 他不感到累,反而劲头更足。 Tā bù gǎndào lèi, fǎn'ér jìntóu gèng zú. → He didn't feel tired; on the contrary, he had even more energy.
因而
therefore ⇒ 由于工人们增强了安全意识，因而事故发生率大大减少了。 Yóuyú gōngrénmen zēngqiángle ānquán yìshí, yīn'ér shìgù fāshēnglǜ dàdà jiǎnshǎo le. → Workers have become more safety conscious, and therefore the accident rate has fallen greatly.
幸而
fortunately
忽而
suddenly ⇒ 远处的灯光忽而明，忽而暗。 Yuǎnchù de dēngguāng hū'er míng, hū'er àn. → The lights in the distance flickered on and off.
时而
sometimes ⇒ 电脑时而出故障。 Diànnǎo shí'ér chū gùzhàng. → The computer sometimes plays up. ⇒ 他精神失常了,时而大哭,时而大笑。 Tā jīngshén shīcháng le, shí'ér dà kū, shí'ér dà xiào. → He's psychologically unbalanced — one moment he's in floods of tears, the next he's laughing uncontrollably.
然而
however ⇒ 他发了财,然而生活依然俭朴。 Tā fāle cái, rán'ér shēnghuó yīrán jiǎnpǔ. → Even after he'd made it, he led a simple and thrifty life.
继而
then ⇒ 他先是一愣,继而大笑。 Tā xiān shì yī lèng, jì'ér dà xiào. → At first he was taken aback — then he burst out laughing.
而且
and what's more ⇒ 他会讲英语,而且讲得好。 Tā huì jiǎng Yīngyǔ, érqiě jiǎng de hǎo. → He can speak English, and what's more he speaks it very well. ⇒ 他不但歌唱得好,而且还会作曲。 Tā bùdàn gē chàng de hǎo, érqiě hái huì zuòqǔ. → He sings very well, and on top of that he can also write music.
而今
today ⇒ 原本荒凉的郊外,而今已是高楼林立。 Yuánběn huāngliáng de jiāowài, érjīn yǐ shì gāolóu línlì. → Today the old wasteland is a forest of skyscrapers.
而后
then ⇒ 他去年来过一封信,而后再没联系过。 Tā qùnián láiguo yī fēng xìn, érhòu zài méi liánxìguo. → Last year he sent a letter, but after that he didn't get in contact again.
而已
⇒ 我没别的意思,只是提醒你而已。 Wǒ méi bié de yìsi, zhǐshì tíxǐng nǐ éryǐ. → All I'm doing is cautioning you. ⇒ 她只是说说而已,不会真做的。 Tā zhǐshì shuōshuō éryǐ, bù huì zhēn zuò de. → She's all talk – she won't really do it.
进而
then ⇒ 首先我们得先测试产品,进而再推广。 Shǒuxiān wǒmen děi xiān cèshì chǎnpǐn, jìn'ér zài tuīguǎng. → First we have to test the product, and then we have to promote it.
一挥而就
dash ... off
一蹴而就
accomplish at one stroke
三思而行
think twice ⇒ 处理这个棘手的问题,望你三思而行,切莫鲁莽。 Chǔlǐ zhège jíshǒu de wèntí, wàng nǐ sān sī ér xíng, qiè mò lǔmǎng. → I hope you'll think twice before you deal with this difficult issue, and not do anything rash.
不约而同
happen to coincide ⇒ 大家不约而同地投了赞成票。 Dàjiā bù yuē ér tóng de tóule zànchéng piào. → Everybody happened to vote in favour.
不翼而飞
disappear without trace
不胫而走
spread like wildfire
不谋而合
happen to coincide
久而久之
over time
乘虚而入
exploit a weakness
似是而非
specious ⇒ 他的推理似是而非。 Tā de tuīlǐ sì shì ér fēi. → His reasoning is specious.
侃侃而谈
speak frankly and in measured tones
兼而有之
be both ... and ... ⇒ 一次学术性与娱乐性兼而有之的活动 yī cì xuéshùxìng yǔ yúlèxìng jiān ér yǒu zhī de huódòng → an activity that is both educational and fun
半途而废
give up halfway ⇒ 我们一定要坚持到底,不能半途而废。 Wǒmen yīdìng yào jiānchí dàodǐ, bùnéng bàntú ér fèi. → We must persevere - we can't give up halfway.
华而不实
showy
取而代之
replace ⇒ 老前锋受伤了, 教练只能让替补球员取而代之。 Lǎo qiánfēng shòushāng le, jiàoliàn zhǐnéng ràng tìbǔ qiúyuán qǔ ér dài zhī. → The original forward was injured — the coach had to replace him with a substitute player.
听而不闻
turn a deaf ear
周而复始
come full circle
坐而论道
sit and pontificate
平心而论
in all fairness
总而言之
in brief
戛然而止
stop suddenly
扬长而去
storm out ⇒ 他把杯子摔在地上，然后扬长而去。 Tā bǎ bēizi shuāi zài dì shang, ránhòu yángcháng ér qù. → He threw his cup onto the floor, and stormed out.
拂袖而去
storm off
接踵而来
a constant stream of people ⇒ 到这里旅游的人接踵而来。 Dào zhèlǐ lǚyóu de rén jiēzhǒng ér lái. → There's a constant stream of tourists here.
揭竿而起
rise up in arms
敬而远之
keep away from
显而易见
obvious
泛泛而谈
talk generally
竭泽而渔
kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
背道而驰
go in the opposite direction
脱口而出
the words roll off one's tongue
脱颖而出
come to the fore
轻而易举
without effort
迎刃而解
be neatly solved
适可而止
not go too far
铤而走险
rush headlong into danger
锲而不舍
persevering
English translation of '而'
而
(ér)
连
(= 并且) and
⇒ 美丽而聪明 (měilì ér cōngming) beautiful and clever
⇒ 抽烟有其害而无其利。 (Chōuyān yǒu qí hài ér wú qí lì.) Smoking does nothing but harm.
(= 但是) but
⇒ 这种香水的香味儿浓而不烈。 (Zhè zhǒng xiāngshuǐ de xiāngwèir nóng ér bù liè.) This perfume is strong but the smell is not overpowering.
⇒ 浓而不烈 (nóng ér bù liè) strong but not overpowering
⇒ 她不是学生，而是老师。 (Tā bù shì xuéshēng, ér shì lǎoshī.) She isn't a student, but a teacher.
(连接状语和动词)
⇒ 夺门而逃 (duó mén ér táo) force the door and rush out
(= 如果) if
⇒ 想成功而不努力,那是痴心妄想。 (Xiǎng chénggōng ér bù nǔlì, nà shì chīxīn wàngxiǎng.) It's just wishful thinking to imagine that you can be successful without putting inthe work.