---
title: "verb1 + 着 + verb2 (doing 2 while/by doing 1) in Chinese Grammar: Do something while …, With Examples"
description: "verb1 + 着 + verb2 (doing 2 while/by doing 1): do something while …; do it by …. Verb + 着 + verb: the second action is done in the manner or state of the first — 笑着说 “say with a smile”, 走着去 “go on foot”. 4 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-zhe-v"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

# verb1 + 着 + verb2 (doing 2 while/by doing 1)

Do something while …; do it by …

Verb + 着 + verb: the second action is done in the manner or state of the first — 笑着说 “say with a smile”, 走着去 “go on foot”.

## In stories

我看见一个很大很大的东西，**坐着吃**东西。

[熊猫是猫吗？ · Animals in Chinese: is a panda a cat?](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/animals-in-chinese#library-word-35-38) HSK 2

奶奶看见了，**笑着说**：“大卫吃好了！”

[吃不完的饭 · A Chinese family dinner that never ends](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/chinese-family-dinner-story#library-word-217-220) HSK 2

八个人都**笑着看**她。

[从一数到十 · Chinese numbers 1 to 10](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/chinese-numbers-1-to-10#library-word-138-141) HSK 2

他看了看我，**笑着说**：“我在外边等着，你可能在里边吧。”

[第一次见面 · The first date: both late for the same reason](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/chinese-story-about-a-first-date#library-word-324-327) HSK 2

[Read 熊猫是猫吗？](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/animals-in-chinese#library-word-35-38)

## More patterns

- [place + verb + 着 + thing (there is …) there is … (somewhere)](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zhe-existential)
- [verb + 着 + verb + 着 while doing something (and then …)](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/vzhe-vzhe)
- [把 + object + verb do something to … (and it ends up changed)](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/ba)
- [verb (+ 了) + duration (for how long) for … (how long … lasts)](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/duration)
- [verb + 得 + complement says how something is done (how well, how much, with what result)](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-de-c)
- […的时候 when …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/de-shihou)

## What does verb1 + 着 + verb2 (doing 2 while/by doing 1) mean in Chinese?

Do something while …; do it by …. Verb + 着 + verb: the second action is done in the manner or state of the first — 笑着说 “say with a smile”, 走着去 “go on foot”.

## How common is verb1 + 着 + verb2 (doing 2 while/by doing 1)?

It comes up in 114 readings of the 392 stories and articles in our free Library.

## Does it correct my mistakes?

No. It shows which patterns a text uses and what each one does; it doesn’t mark errors. Paste a sentence you wrote to see whether it uses the pattern you meant.

## More free tools

- [Chinese dictionary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dictionary)
- [Measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [How hard is this text?](https://mandarinthewild.com/text-level)
- [Free Chinese stories](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

Patterns found by our own parser; lines from our free Library.