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。
Last week I bought a pair of trousers, and yesterday I bought another pair.
你上午已经喝了一杯咖啡，下午怎么又喝了一杯？
You already drank a cup of coffee this morning, why did you drink another cup in the afternoon?
小刚，你前天迟到，昨天迟到，今天怎么又迟到了？
Xiaogang, you were late the day before yesterday, late yesterday, why are you late again today?
我昨天看了一个电影，今天又看了一个。
I watched a movie yesterday, and I watched another one today.
2. “再” — action yet to repeat
你只吃了一点儿饭，再吃一点儿吧。
You only ate a little bit of food, please eat a bit more.
家里只有一个面包了，我们再买一些吧。
There is only one loaf of bread left at home, let's buy some more.
那个饭馆我昨天去了一次，明天还想再去一次。
I went to that restaurant once yesterday, and I want to go again tomorrow.
昨天去看了看，今天又去看了看，明天还要再去看看。
I went to take a look yesterday, went to take a look again today, and I want to go take another look tomorrow.