而
ér HSK2

and

而 ér
[adverbial linker] particleconjunction
Connects an adverb-like description to the following verb to show the manner, cause, or basis of an action.

我是为了自己而唱的。

wǒ shì wèi​le zì​jǐ ér chàng de.

I'm singing for myself.

他们都是因他而死的。

tā​men dōu shì yīn tā ér sǐ de.

They all died because of him.

but conjunction
Used to connect ideas that contrast or conflict; yet; but; on the other hand

我错了，而你是对的。

wǒ cuò le, ér nǐ shì duì de.

I was wrong, and you were right.

你现在拥有那么多，而我什么都没有。

nǐ xiàn​zài yōng​yǒu nà​me duō, ér wǒ shén​me dōu méi​yǒu.

You have so much right now, and I have nothing.

[suffix] conjunctionparticle
(bound form) Suffix used to form certain conjunctions or adverbs, such as in 然而 rán'ér or 因而 yīn'ér.
and conjunction
Used to connect words or phrases that are similar in nature; and; as well as; and also

她亲了我，而我也亲了她。

tā qīn le wǒ, ér wǒ yě qīn le tā.

She kissed me and I kissed her back.

我安全而自由。

wǒ ān​quán ér zì​yóu.

I am safe and free.

[resultative linker] particleconjunction
Used in certain constructions to indicate that the second action or state follows immediately from or is the result of the first, as in 一 yī...ér...

我最好的朋友因为你而死。

wǒ zuì​hǎo de péng​you yīn​wèi nǐ ér sǐ.

My best friend died because of you.

我因为没有笑而被捕。

wǒ yīn​wèi méi​yǒu xiào ér bèi​bǔ.

I was arrested for not smiling.

to preposition
Indicates a transition or progression from one state or place to another; to; through to.
if
(literary) Used between a subject and predicate to express a condition; if.
you
(literary) Second person pronoun; you.
surname
a Chinese surname
radical
the 126th Kangxi radical
I
(literary) First person pronoun; I; me
whiskers
(archaic) Whiskers or hair on the cheeks

Cross-References

See

Frequency
Character
Written text
36th most common 3355.2 per million
Movie subtitles
113th most common 1547.0 per million appears in 99% of films
Word
Movie subtitles
1173.9 per million appears in 94% of films
Written text
1900.8 per million

Details
HSK 2.0
Level 3
HSK 3.0
Level 2
Strokes
6
Unicode
U+800C

Sources
Frequency data
MTSU Chinese text computingSUBTLEX-CHBCC Corpus (BLCU)