越来越 + Adj/Verb
Reach for 越来越 when something is changing in the same direction over time — 'more and more [hot / busy / popular / hard to find].' Stick it right before an adjective or a mental/stative verb to signal an increasing trend. Common in everyday observations: weather, prices, traffic, skill level, popularity. Works for both positive ('更好') and negative ('更糟') trajectories.
Structure
[SUBJECT] 越来越 [ADJ / STATIVE VERB]
yuè lái yuè [ADJ / VERB]
How to Think About It
越来越 is a time-arrow. Each 越 is a tick of the clock, telling the listener 'as time passes, this quality climbs.' Because the arrow lives inside the phrase, you don't need an extra time word — '现在越来越...' or '最近越来越...' just amplify what 越来越 already conveys. The slot after it is a quality, not an action verb: '越来越喜欢' (yes, mental verb), '越来越跑' (no, action verb).
Examples
天气越来越冷。
Tiānqì yuè lái yuè lěng.
The weather is getting colder and colder.
我越来越喜欢这个城市。
Wǒ yuè lái yuè xǐhuān zhège chéngshì.
I like this city more and more.
她的中文越来越好了。
Tā de Zhōngwén yuè lái yuè hǎo le.
Her Chinese is getting better and better.
Common Mistake
Learners pair 越来越 with action verbs like 跑, 吃, 写, expecting it to mean 'do more and more.' 越来越 only works with adjectives and stative/mental verbs (喜欢, 想, 觉得, 了解). For action quantity over time, use 越来越多人 [verb] or rephrase.
他越来越跑。
他越来越喜欢跑步。
Don't Confuse With
越 ... 越 ...
Conditional, not temporal: 'the more X, the more Y.' '越吃越想吃' (the more I eat, the more I want to eat). 越来越 needs only one quality and tracks change over time.
更 + Adj
更 = a single bump up ('better, taller, more'), one step. 越来越 = a continuous climb. '今年更冷' (colder this year) vs. '今年越来越冷' (getting colder and colder).
一天比一天 + Adj
'Day by day more X' — vivid, slightly literary, emphasizes the steady daily change. Same direction as 越来越, with a stronger image of incremental progress.
Practice
最近房价 ___ 高。
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越来越
他越来越 ___ 自己的工作。
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喜欢
Put in order: [越来越 / 多 / 学中文 / 人 / 的]
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学中文的人越来越多。
Translate to Chinese: 'The traffic is getting worse and worse.'
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交通越来越差。
Write one sentence about a trend you've noticed, using 越来越.
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Example answer: 现在年轻人越来越喜欢喝咖啡。 (Young people are liking coffee more and more these days.)
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 2 Fluentide episodes: