何况 (let alone)

• 拼音: hékuàng
• 结构: 连 + A + 都 + Verb，何况 + B + 呢？
• 汉字拆解: 何 = 亻(person) + 可 (can), meaning what or how; 况 = 冫(ice) + 兄 (elder brother), meaning condition

含义

The conjunction 何况 means 'let alone,' 'much less,' or 'not to mention' and is used in escalation arguments. If something is true for an easier case, 何况 introduces the harder case to show it must be even more true.

何况 is a formal rhetorical connector that builds arguments from lesser to greater. It often appears with the pattern 连...都..., 何况...呢, where the first clause establishes that even an easy or minor case meets a condition, and 何况 escalates to a harder or more extreme case. For example: 连大人都觉得难，何况小孩子呢 (even adults find it hard, let alone children). 何况 is more literary than 别说 or 更不用说, which serve similar functions in casual speech. The rhetorical question marker 呢 frequently follows the 何况 clause. This pattern is widely used in persuasive writing, formal speech, and logical arguments.

例句

1. 连专家都解决不了这个问题，何况我们普通人呢？
2. 大人都受不了这种天气，何况老人和孩子呢？
3. 他连自己的事都管不好，何况别人的事呢？

用法指南

语境: written, spoken, formal

语气: argumentative

正确说法

• 这个任务连经验丰富的老员工都做不好，何况刚入职的新人呢？
• 我在本地都迷路了，何况你一个外地人呢？
• 连免费的东西他都不要，何况花钱买的呢？

错误说法

• 何况我很忙，所以不能去。(何况 cannot start an independent reason — it must follow a first clause that establishes a baseline condition for comparison) → 我连周末都没时间，何况工作日呢？
• 他连游泳都不会，何况他很害怕水。(The 何况 clause should present a more extreme case, not a separate explanation — state the escalated comparison, not a reason) → 他连游泳都不会，何况潜水呢？

起源与历史

The conjunction 何况 comes from classical Chinese, combining 何 (how/what) and 况 (condition/moreover). It originally functioned as a rhetorical question meaning 'how much more so in [this other] condition?' This argumentative function has been preserved virtually unchanged in modern Mandarin.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal