Merry Mandarin logo Merry MandarinGrammar Lab
A2 Intermediate Sentence Structure

How to Say “Together” with 一起 (yīqǐ)

一起 (yīqǐ) means “together” and sits right before the verb: 我们一起吃饭 (“we eat together”). The catch English speakers miss: 一起 is NOT “with” — it can’t introduce the person. To say who you’re with, use 跟/和 + person, then 一起 + verb: 我跟你一起去 (“I’ll go with you”).

Why this trips learners up

一起 (yīqǐ) is the everyday word for doing something together, and the basic pattern is simple: Subject + 一起 + Verb, where 一起 is an adverb sitting right before the verb — 我们一起吃饭 (“we eat together”), 全家人一起看电影 (“the whole family watches a movie together”). Because you can’t do something “together” by yourself, the subject has to be plural: 我们, 他们, 全家人, or two people joined up.

Here’s the trap. 一起 means “together,” not “with” — it cannot introduce the other person. So you can’t say 我一起他去 for “I go with him.” To name who you’re with, you still need 跟 (gēn) or 和 (hé) — “with” — in front of the person, and then 一起 before the verb: 我跟他一起去 (“I go with him”), 我和同事一起吃饭 (“I eat with my colleagues”). Think of it as a two-part team: 跟/和 + person says who you’re with, and 一起 + verb says the action is joint. The full shape is 跟/和 + person + 一起 + verb.

Two more notes. The companion phrase comes before the verb (and after any modal): 老板要和我们一起开会 (“the boss will have a meeting with us”). And if the subject is already plural, you can drop 跟/和 entirely — 我们一起去 is complete on its own. A common spoken synonym for 一起 is 一块儿 (yíkuàir), which means exactly the same thing in the same slot, just more colloquial.

The structure

Subject 一起 yīqǐ VerbObject
Colour key

Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.

Pattern Subject Verb Object Time Function word Connector Measure word Question

Examples in context

Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.

Tap a word to see its grammatical role.

wǒmen 我们 Subject yīqǐ 一起 Pattern hē 喝 Verb bēi 杯 Measure word kāfēi 咖啡 Object ba 吧 Function word

Let’s have a coffee together (plural subject + 一起 + 吧).

wǒ 我 Subject gēn 跟 Connector tóngshì 同事 Object yīqǐ 一起 Pattern chī 吃 Verb wǔfàn 午饭 Object

I eat lunch together with my colleagues (跟 + person + 一起 + verb).

zhōumò 周末 Time wǒ 我 Subject hé 和 Connector háizi 孩子 Object yīqǐ 一起 Pattern zuò 做 Verb dàngāo 蛋糕 Object

On weekends I make cake together with my kids (和 + person + 一起).

nǐ 你 Subject xiǎng 想 Function word gēn 跟 Connector wǒmen 我们 Object yīqǐ 一起 Pattern qù 去 Verb páshān 爬山 Verb ma 吗 Question

Do you want to go hiking together with us? (想 + 跟…一起).

quán jiā rén 全家人 Subject yīqǐ 一起 Pattern kàn 看 Verb le 了 Function word yì chǎng 一场 Measure word diànyǐng 电影 Object

The whole family watched a movie together (plural-noun subject, no 跟/和 needed).

míngtiān 明天 Time lǎobǎn 老板 Subject yào 要 Function word hé 和 Connector wǒmen 我们 Object yīqǐ 一起 Pattern kāihuì 开会 Verb

Tomorrow the boss is going to have a meeting together with us (要 + 和…一起).

wǒmen 我们 Subject yǐqián 以前 Time yīqǐ 一起 Pattern zhù 住 Verb guo 过 Function word liǎng nián 两年 Time

We used to live together for two years (一起 + verb + 过 — a shared past).

bìyè yǐhòu 毕业以后 Time wǒ 我 Subject dǎsuàn 打算 Function word hé 和 Connector hǎo péngyou 好朋友 Object yīqǐ 一起 Pattern kāi 开 Verb yì jiā 一家 Measure word kāfēidiàn 咖啡店 Object

After I graduate, I plan to open a coffee shop together with my best friend (和…一起).

Common mistakes

Avoid: 我一起他去。 wǒ yīqǐ tā qù.
Say this: 我跟他一起去。 wǒ gēn tā yīqǐ qù.

Why it happens: 一起 means “together,” not “with” — it can’t introduce the person. “I go with him” is 我跟他一起去, never 我一起他去. Name the companion with 跟/和, then put 一起 before the verb.

Avoid: 我们去看电影一起。 wǒmen qù kàn diànyǐng yīqǐ.
Say this: 我们一起去看电影。 wǒmen yīqǐ qù kàn diànyǐng.

Why it happens: 一起 is an adverb, so it goes BEFORE the verb, never after it or at the end. “Let’s go watch a movie together” is 我们一起去看电影, not 我们去看电影一起.

Avoid: 我一起吃饭。 wǒ yīqǐ chī fàn.
Say this: 我和朋友一起吃饭。 wǒ hé péngyou yīqǐ chī fàn.

Why it happens: You can’t do something “together” alone — the subject must be plural. 我一起吃饭 (just “I”) doesn’t work; make it 我们一起吃饭, or bring in a companion: 我和朋友一起吃饭.

Compare & contrast

跟 / 和 + person — names WHO with一起 + verb — marks the action JOINTThe difference
跟同事gēn tóngshì一起吃饭yīqǐ chī fàn跟同事 = “with colleagues” (just the companion); 一起吃饭 = “eat together” (just the joint action). Put them together: 跟同事一起吃饭 (“eat together with colleagues”).
和你hé nǐ一起去yīqǐ qù和你 = “with you”; 一起去 = “go together.” Combined: 和你一起去 (“go together with you”).
Rule of thumbThey’re a team, not rivals: 跟/和 + person says WHO you’re with; 一起 says the action is done TOGETHER. The full pattern is 跟/和 + person + 一起 + verb (我跟你一起去 = “I’ll go with you”). Drop 一起 and you just have “with”; drop 跟/和 and no companion is named.

Try it yourself

Say “I’ll go together with you.” — name the companion first (跟 + person), then 一起 + verb.

Related patterns

跟跟 (gēn): How to Say “With” (Doing Things Together)

跟 is the “with” that 一起 needs — 跟 names the companion, 一起 marks the action joint: 跟你一起去.

 和How to Say “And” with 和 (hé)

和 does double duty — “and” between nouns, and “with” before a companion: 和朋友一起 (“together with a friend”).

 吧How to Make Suggestions with 吧 (ba)

一起 + 吧 is the natural “let’s …!”: 我们一起去吧 (“let’s go together!”) — the suggestion 吧 closing a joint action.

 我吃饭How to Build a Basic Chinese Sentence

一起 is an adverb, so it slots into the basic frame right before the verb, like other pre-verb adverbs.

 正好How to Say “Happen To” and “Just Right” with 正好 (zhènghǎo)

When plans 正好 (happen to) line up, that’s your cue to do it 一起 — 我们正好顺路，一起走吧 (“we happen to be going the same way, let’s walk together”).

 互相How to Say “Each Other” with 互相 (hùxiāng)

The key contrast: 一起 is “together” (joint, same direction); 互相 is “each other” (reciprocal, A↔B). 一起学习 vs 互相学习.

 彼此How to Say “Each Other” with 彼此 (bǐcǐ)

The reciprocal counterpart to “together.” 一起 is doing the same thing side by side (我们一起吃饭); 彼此 is doing it back and forth between two parties (我们信任彼此, “we trust each other”). Together vs. at each other — the same split as 一起 vs 互相.
Quick reference card
Merry Mandarin How to Say “Together” with 一起 (yīqǐ) grammar.merrymandarin.com

A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.

Structure
Subject + 一起 + Verb + Object
Example
我们一起喝杯咖啡吧
Let’s have a coffee together (plural subject + 一起 + 吧).
Watch out
✗ 我一起他去。  →  ✓ 我跟他一起去。