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HSK 3

越

more (in 越...越... construction); to exceed

adverbneutral
越
yuè4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
yuè
Part of speech
adverb
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
12
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 越

越 is written with 12 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 越 mean?

越 (yuè) is the Chinese adverb used to express progressive change — 'the more X, the more Y.'

The core pattern is 越...越... — 越多越好 ('the more, the better'); 越快越好 ('the faster, the better'); 雨越下越大 ('the rain falls heavier and heavier'). A second, equally common pattern is 越来越... ('more and more...'

): 天气越来越冷 ('the weather is getting colder and colder'); 我越来越喜欢中文 ('I like Chinese more and more'). 越来越 always precedes a stative verb or adjective. As a standalone verb, 越 can mean 'to exceed; to cross over' (越过), but this use is more written. In daily speech, 越 lives almost entirely inside the two patterns above. Don't try to use 越 alone as 'more' — that's 更 (gèng) for plain comparison ('this one is better' = 这个更好).

Memory hook: Think of 越 as 'climbing over' — the more you climb, the higher you go; X increases, so does Y.

Example sentences

天气越来越冷了。

Tiānqì yuè lái yuè lěng le.

The weather is getting colder and colder.

spoken

我越来越喜欢中文。

Wǒ yuè lái yuè xǐhuan Zhōngwén.

I like Chinese more and more.

spoken

雨越下越大。

Yǔ yuè xià yuè dà.

The rain is falling harder and harder.

neutral

越多人来越好。

Yuè duō rén lái yuè hǎo.

The more people come, the better.

spoken

他跑得越来越快。

Tā pǎo de yuè lái yuè kuài.

He's running faster and faster.

neutral

Common phrases with 越

越来越yuè lái yuèmore and more
越多越好yuè duō yuè hǎothe more, the better
越快越好yuè kuài yuè hǎothe faster, the better
越大越...yuè dà yuè...the bigger, the more...
越来越冷yuè lái yuè lěngcolder and colder

Synonyms

更gèng

更 means 'more / even more' for a single comparison: 这个更好 ('this one is better'). 越 is for progressive change inside the 越...越... or 越来越... patterns. Different grammar, do not swap.

Don't confuse 越 with

月yuè

月 means 'moon / month' — same pinyin and tone as 越, but a completely different character and meaning. Context disambiguates: 八月 ('August') vs 越来越 ('more and more').

更gèng

更 is 'even more' for a one-time comparison. 这个更好 ('this is better'). You cannot say 这个越好 — 越 requires the paired pattern.

再zài

再 means 'again / further' for future actions. 越 is for progressive change. Don't confuse 越来越 ('more and more') with 再来 ('come again').

Frequently asked questions

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