Comparison of “又” and “再”
Both 又 (yòu) and 再 (zài) are adverbs placed before a verb to express the recurrence of an action or situation (equivalent to “again”, “once more”, or “another” in English). The main distinction depends on whether the repeated action has already occurred:
又 + Verb: Indicates that the repeated action has already happened (past or completed repetition).
再 + Verb: Indicates that the repeated action has not happened yet (future, planned, or intended repetition).
Grammar Structure
Completed repetition: Subject + 又 + Verb (+ 了)
Future repetition: Subject + 再 + Verb
| 又 | 再 |
|---|---|
| Already happened | Has not happened yet |
| Past, often with 了 | Future, plan or suggestion |
1. “又” — action already repeated
上个星期我买了一条裤子，昨天又买了一条
你上午已经喝了一杯咖啡，下午怎么又喝了一杯？
小刚，你前天迟到，昨天迟到，今天怎么又迟到了？
我昨天看了一个电影，今天又看了一个
2. “再” — action yet to repeat
你只吃了一点儿饭，再吃一点儿吧
家里只有一个面包了，我们再买一些吧
那个饭馆我昨天去了一次，明天还想再去一次
昨天去看了看，今天又去看了看，明天还要再去看看