Example sentences
wǒ我hé和nǐ你yī一qǐ起qù去。
I'll go with you.
tā他xǐ喜huān欢māo猫hé和gǒu狗。
He likes cats and dogs.
The story behind the character
和
和 means "and," and it joins nouns, not sentences: 我和你 you and me, 茶和咖啡 tea and coffee, 爸爸和妈妈. This is where English speakers slip. "I came and I ate" cannot be 我来和我吃; Chinese says 我来了，也吃了 or just splits it into two. Keep 和 between two things of the same kind and it behaves. The pronunciation is hé, never hàn.