况且 和 何况
besides, moreover (况且, adding one more reason) vs. let alone (何况)
Structure
理由一 ， 况且 理由二 ； A 都… 更何况 B？
What it means
况且 adds one more reason to a point already made: “besides”. 何况 can also add a reason, but its main use is “let alone”.
How it is built
Reason 1，况且 (+ 又／也／还) + reason 2: 今天太晚了，况且外面还下着雨 (it’s late, and besides it’s raining). A 都…，更何况 B 呢？: 年轻人都搬不动，更何况老人呢？
When to use it
况且 is a little bookish; in speech 再说 does the same job. 何况 (lesson 1-19) argues from a stronger case to a weaker one, usually as a rhetorical question, often as 更何况.
Watch out
况且 never means “let alone”: ✗ 年轻人都搬不动，况且老人。 ✓ …更何况老人呢？ And 更况且 does not exist.
Examples
五十岁出头就退休实在可惜。况且，缴纳养老保险的年轻人越来越少。
Retiring in your early fifties is a real waste. Besides, fewer and fewer young people are paying into pensions.
今天太晚了，况且外面还下着雨，你就住在这儿吧。
It’s very late, and besides it is raining, so stay the night here.
这么重的箱子年轻人都搬不动，更何况是七十岁的老人呢？
Even a young person can’t shift a box this heavy, let alone a seventy-year-old.
Learn this in Lesson 71 · HSK 6: 银发经济与延迟退休 (The silver economy and later retirement)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →