How to Say “While You're At It” with 顺便 (shùnbiàn)
顺便 (shùnbiàn) is the adverb for doing something “while you're at it / on the way / in passing.” It marks a second action as a convenient add-on to the first, main one: Subject + Verb Phrase 1, 顺便 + Verb Phrase 2 (我去超市，顺便买了瓶酱油, “I went to the supermarket and grabbed soy sauce while I was there”). Colloquially, 顺便说一下 / 顺便问一下 means “by the way, …”.
Why this trips learners up
顺便 (shùnbiàn) is the adverb English usually renders as “while you're at it / while I'm at it,” and sometimes as “on the way,” “in passing,” or “conveniently.” Its whole job is to mark a second action as an incidental add-on to a first one you're already doing: because you happen to be going to the shop, the bank, or out the door anyway, you tack on one more small thing to save a trip. The hard part for learners isn't the meaning; it's that Chinese packs this into a single adverb, where English spreads it across a whole phrase.
The core structure is Subject + Verb Phrase 1, 顺便 + Verb Phrase 2. Verb Phrase 1 is the main action, the real reason you're doing anything; 顺便 sits in front of Verb Phrase 2, the convenient extra. 我去邮局，顺便买了几张邮票 (“I went to the post office and bought some stamps while I was at it”), 你去银行的时候顺便把这封信寄了吧 (“mail this letter while you're at the bank”). It shows up constantly in favour requests, paired with 帮: 你下楼的时候能顺便帮我拿个快递吗？(“could you grab my package while you're heading downstairs?”). Often the first clause is framed with …的时候 or 既然 (“since you're going anyway…”), which sets up the trip 顺便 rides on.
There's also a very common colloquial use: 顺便说一下 and 顺便问一下 mean “by the way, …”, tacking a remark or a question onto the conversation the way you'd tack an errand onto a trip. 顺便说一下，明天的会议改到三点了 (“by the way, tomorrow's meeting has been moved to 3pm”), 顺便问一下，你知道地铁站怎么走吗？(“by the way, do you know the way to the subway?”). Same logic, applied to talk instead of tasks.
Two things to keep straight. First, 顺便 marks the secondary action, never the main errand: it's 我去北京出差，顺便去看朋友 (“I'm in Beijing on business and I'll visit a friend while I'm there”), not 我顺便去北京出差 (the business trip is the whole point). Second, 顺便 is for an opportunistic add-on done in sequence, not two things happening at once: for genuinely simultaneous, co-equal actions you want 一边…一边 (yìbiān…yìbiān), covered in the comparison below. If the second action only happens because you're already doing the first, it's 顺便; if two actions run side by side at the same time, it's 一边…一边.
The structure
Colour key
Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.
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.
nǐ chūqù de shíhou 你出去的时候 Time shùnbiàn 顺便 Pattern dào yíxià lājī 倒一下垃圾 Verb
Take the trash out while you're heading out (顺便 + a small chore riding on 出去).
wǒ qù yóujú 我去邮局， Verb shùnbiàn 顺便 Pattern mǎi le jǐ zhāng yóupiào 买了几张邮票 Verb
I went to the post office and bought a few stamps while I was at it (顺便 + 了, a completed extra).
nǐ xiàlóu de shíhou 你下楼的时候 Time néng 能 Function word shùnbiàn 顺便 Pattern bāng wǒ ná ge kuàidì ma 帮我拿个快递吗 Verb
Could you grab my package while you're going downstairs? (顺便帮我…, the classic favour request).
wǒ sòng háizi shàngxué 我送孩子上学， Verb shùnbiàn 顺便 Pattern qù càishìchǎng mǎi diǎn cài 去菜市场买点菜 Verb
I drop the kids at school and pick up some groceries on the way (two errands, the second riding on the first).
nǐ qù yínháng de shíhou 你去银行的时候， Time shùnbiàn 顺便 Pattern bǎ zhè fēng xìn jì le ba 把这封信寄了吧 Verb
When you go to the bank, mail this letter while you're at it (顺便 + a 把 phrase).
jìrán nǐ yào qù túshūguǎn 既然你要去图书馆， Connector shùnbiàn 顺便 Pattern bāng wǒ huán yíxià shū 帮我还一下书 Verb
Since you're going to the library anyway, return this book for me while you're there (既然…顺便…).
shùnbiàn 顺便 Pattern shuō yíxià 说一下， Verb míngtiān de huìyì gǎi dào xiàwǔ sān diǎn le 明天的会议改到下午三点了 Other
By the way, tomorrow's meeting has been moved to 3pm (顺便说一下, tacking on a remark).
shùnbiàn 顺便 Pattern wèn yíxià 问一下， Verb nǐ zhīdào zuìjìn de dìtiě zhàn zěnme zǒu ma 你知道最近的地铁站怎么走吗 Other
By the way, do you know how to get to the nearest subway station? (顺便问一下, tacking on a question).
Common mistakes
Why it happens: 顺便 marks the incidental action, not the main errand. The business trip is the whole reason for going, so 顺便 belongs on the visit that rides along: 我去北京出差，顺便去看一个朋友, not 我顺便去北京出差. Put 顺便 on the bonus action, never on the main one.
Why it happens: 顺便 is for a convenient add-on done in sequence, not two things happening at the same time. Walking and talking on the phone run together as co-equal actions, so it's 他一边走路一边打电话, not 顺便…顺便…. Use 一边…一边 for simultaneous actions and 顺便 for an opportunistic extra.
Why it happens: 顺便 goes before the incidental verb phrase, not trailing at the end. It's 你去超市顺便帮我买瓶牛奶 (“grab me some milk while you're at the supermarket”), not …买瓶牛奶顺便. As an adverb, 顺便 comes right in front of the second action it introduces.
Compare & contrast
| 顺便 shùnbiàn (an incidental extra action, done because you're already doing the main one) | 一边…一边 yìbiān…yìbiān (two co-equal actions happening at the same time) | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| 我去超市，顺便买了瓶酱油wǒ qù chāoshì, shùnbiàn mǎi le píng jiàngyóu = “I went to the supermarket and grabbed a bottle of soy sauce while I was there” (顺便: the trip was the point, the soy sauce a convenient extra) | 他一边做饭一边听歌tā yìbiān zuòfàn yìbiān tīng gē = “he cooks while listening to music” (一边…一边: two actions running together, neither an add-on to the other) | 我去超市，顺便买了瓶酱油 means “I went to the supermarket and grabbed a bottle of soy sauce while I was there,” 顺便 marking the shopping trip as the point and the soy sauce as a convenient extra. 他一边做饭一边听歌 means “he cooks while listening to music,” 一边…一边 running two actions together, neither one an add-on to the other. One rides along; the other runs alongside. |
| 你回家顺便买点面包nǐ huí jiā shùnbiàn mǎi diǎn miànbāo = “grab some bread on your way home” (顺便: going home is the main errand, the bread the bonus) | 学生一边走一边看手机xuéshēng yìbiān zǒu yìbiān kàn shǒujī = “the students walk and look at their phones at the same time” (一边…一边: simultaneous and co-equal) | 你回家顺便买点面包 means “grab some bread on your way home,” 顺便 ranking going home as the main errand and the bread as the bonus. 学生一边走一边看手机 means “the students walk and look at their phones at the same time,” 一边…一边 treating the two as simultaneous and equal. 顺便 sequences and ranks; 一边…一边 overlaps and levels. |
Try it yourself
Say “Grab me a bottle of milk while you're at the supermarket.” Use VP1 + 顺便 + VP2.
Related patterns
Quick reference card
How to Say “While You're At It” with 顺便 (shùnbiàn) grammar.merrymandarin.com A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.