There are a few ways to express "ever since" in Chinese. In English, we would say something like "ever since I came to Shanghai, my Chinese has improved a lot." In this article, we will first take a look at using 以来 (yǐlái) to mean "ever since." We will also take a quick look at using "ever since" with 来 (lái), which is similar but used in a somewhat different way.

Pattern with 以来

To express "ever since," all one needs to do is put 以来 after a specific event or time. It expresses what has happened since the stated event until the time that the speaker talks (in other words, referring to a certain time period).

Structure

When you need to use 以来 in a more formal or written context, you can add 自, 从, or 自从 (or other similar words) before the time or event.

Examples

今年八月以来，这里一直没下过雨。 Jīnnián Bāyuè yǐlái, zhèlǐ yīzhí méi xià guo yǔ. It hasn't rained since August.
结婚以来，我们没吵过架。 Jiéhūn yǐlái, wǒmen méi chǎo guo jià. We've never had a fight since we got married.
从他爸爸去世以来，他一直没回过家。 Cóng tā bàba qùshì yǐlái, tā yīzhí méi huí guo jiā. He hasn't returned home since his father passed away.
从毕业以来，她一直在教汉语。 Cóng bìyè yǐlái, tā yīzhí zài jiāo Hànyǔ. She has been teaching Chinese since she graduated.
自改革开放以来，中国社会发生了巨大的变化。 Zì gǎigé kāifàng yǐlái, Zhōngguó shèhuì fāshēng le jùdà de biànhuà. Tremendous changes have been taking place in China since the reform and opening up to the outside world.

Pattern with 来

Using 来 to mean "ever since" is basically the same as 以来. However, there is one key difference: you can only use 来 after a time interval. In other words, it needs to be used with a certain number of years, months, days, hours, etc. In English, this would be like saying "Ever since three days ago, I've had a constant headache." It doesn't have to be a specific number either; it could be "a few" (几).

Structure

Examples

十年来，房价一直在涨。 Shí nián lái, fángjià yīzhí zài zhǎng. In the past decade, housing prices have been going up.
几年来，我们公司的收入一直在增加。 Jǐ nián lái, wǒmen gōngsī de shōurù yīzhí zài zēngjiā. Our company's income has been increasing over the past few years.
实习几个月来，我学到了很多。 Shíxí jǐ gè yuè lái, wǒ xuédào le hěn duō. I've learnt a lot from my internship during the last few months.
出国几个月来，她一点也不想家。 Chūguó jǐ gè yuè lái, tā yīdiǎn yě bù xiǎng jiā. She hasn't missed home at all since she went abroad a few month ago.
离婚这几年来，他从没去看过孩子。 Líhūn zhè jǐ nián lái, tā cóng méi qù kàn guo háizi. He hasn't visited his child since he got divorced a few years ago.

Expressing "ever since" with "yilai"

Contents

Pattern with 以来

Structure

Examples

Pattern with 来

Structure

Examples

See also

Sources and further reading

Books