adv.
together
一起
Common Usage & Traps
- 一起吃饭 — eat together
- 一起学习 — study together
- 一起去 — go together / go along
- 和…一起 — together with (someone)
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我们吃饭一起我们一起吃饭一起 has to sit in front of the verb. Parking it after the verb is the classic English word-order slip.
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我一起和他学习我和他一起学习The person block (和/跟 + who) comes first. 一起 never jumps in front of it.
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一起我们走吧我们一起走吧一起 follows the subject. It can't lead the sentence like the English word 'together' sometimes can.
Why does 我和他一起学习 sound right, but 我一起和他学习 sounds off?
一起 parks itself directly in front of the verb, after the person you're with.
Chinese stacks a sentence in order: who, who-with, 一起, then the action. The 和/跟 + person block claims its spot first, and 一起 slides in right before the verb. Helper words like 想 and 可以 come earlier still, so they never push 一起 around. Run the whole thing backwards and it sounds like a foreign accent, even though every word is correct. “高友朋的英语不好，我想我可以和他一起学习。” (Gao Youpeng's English isn't good, so I think I can study together with him.) ── [《友好的高友朋》](/read/friendly-beijing-coworker#s11)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| With a person block | 我和他一起学习 | 我一起和他学习 |
| With 想 / 可以 | 我想和他一起学习 | 我想一起和他学习 |
| With no person block | 我们一起吃饭 | 我们吃饭一起 |
Can you just say 我一起吃饭 and let the other person be understood from context?
一起 needs a second person somewhere — in the 我们, in a 和/跟 block, or in the sentence before.
一起 means the action involves two or more parties, so the sentence should show at least a hint of the other party. Chinese drops subjects all the time, but it doesn't drop the partner out of thin air. Standing alone, 我一起吃饭 leaves a native listener asking who with. Keep the safe shape 我和朋友一起吃饭, or answer a direct question with 我跟你一起去.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Partner inside the subject | 我们一起吃饭 | 我一起吃饭 |
| Partner named after 和/跟 | 我和朋友一起吃饭 | 我一起吃饭 (nobody named) |
| Replying to 你去吗？ | 一起去，我跟你一起 | 我一个人一起去 |
Will Beijing coworkers think I sound stiff if I always say 一起 instead of 一块儿?
一起 is correct everywhere on earth; 一块儿 is simply what northerners say out loud.
Both words mean the same thing, and 一起 is the safe choice in writing, in Taiwan, and with any stranger. 一块儿 is loose northern speech, common in Beijing and 东北 small talk, and it makes you sound like you actually live there. One warning: 一块儿 also means one lump or piece, so 一块儿蛋糕 is cake, not a shared activity.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Emails, essays, Taiwan | 一起 | 一块儿 in anything formal |
| Beijing office small talk | 咱们一块儿吃饭啊 | 一起吃饭 (correct, just stiff here) |
| Meaning one piece | 一块儿蛋糕 | 一起蛋糕 |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
Meet Gao Youpeng, a friendly Beijing coworker who welcomes the narrator with local dishes and a simple language-exchange plan. This warm HSK 2 story is perfect for first readings about work and friendship.
- Scene #1
高友朋的英语不好，我想我可以和他 一起 学习。
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