Formal Written Style in Chinese

In Brief

Formal written Chinese favors compact, impersonal wording and precise links between actions, objects, and institutions. Common signals include 将 before a planned action, 予以 and 加以 before formal action verbs, 进行 before an activity noun, and document words such as 兹、本、该、如下. These forms are useful in notices and reports, but piling them into every sentence makes prose bureaucratic rather than polished.

Overview

At C1, writing natural Chinese is no longer only a matter of making grammatically correct sentences. You also need to choose a register (a style suited to a particular situation). A message to a friend, a university notice, a project report, and a regulation may communicate the same facts in very different language. 书面语 is the broad written register; this article concentrates on its formal, institutional end rather than on all written Chinese.

You will encounter these patterns in administrative notices, business correspondence, policies, reports, contracts, academic prose, and carefully edited news. They often make the actor less prominent and the procedure or result more prominent. English does something similar with words such as “hereby,” “conduct,” “grant,” and “with regard to,” and with the passive voice. The match is not exact, however: Chinese formal style often uses a short coverb or verb—将、对、于、予以—where English changes the whole clause.

Formal style is not simply “longer Chinese.” Good formal writing is explicit, orderly, and economical. It may contain long sentences, but each clause should have a clear relationship to the next. The goal is controlled information structure, not maximum solemnity.

How It Works

将: a formal way to frame a planned action or its object

将 has two important formal uses. Before a verb phrase, it often marks a future or planned development:

• 会议将于周五举行。 — The meeting will be held on Friday.
• 有关安排将另行通知。 — The relevant arrangements will be announced separately.

In the pattern 将 + object + verb, it also works like a more formal 把 construction: the object is placed before the action that affects it.

• 请将申请材料发送至以下邮箱。 — Please send the application materials to the email address below.
• 公司已将相关情况告知客户。 — The company has informed the client of the relevant circumstances.

The verb normally says what happens to that object and often includes a destination, result, or complement. Do not assume every 将 means “will”: in 将文件存档, it marks 文件 as the affected object.

Pattern	Main function	Typical context
将 + verb phrase	planned or expected action	announcements, reports
将 + object + verb phrase	formal disposal of an object	instructions, procedures
将于 + time/place + verb	scheduled event	notices

予以 and 予: granting or applying an official response

予以 + verb presents an action as an official response, decision, or treatment. It commonly combines with two-syllable verbs such as 批准 “approve,” 确认 “confirm,” 支持 “support,” 表扬 “commend,” 处罚 “penalize,” and 纠正 “correct.”

• 符合条件的申请将予以批准。 — Applications meeting the conditions will be approved.
• 对合理建议应予以采纳。 — Reasonable suggestions should be adopted.

The person or matter receiving the treatment is often introduced by 对 or is already clear from context. Grammatically, 予以 is a verb meaning roughly “to give/apply,” while the following verb names the treatment.

The shorter 予 is more compressed and more literary. It can mean “give” in patterns such as 予 + recipient + noun or occur before a formal action:

• 予申请人书面答复 — give the applicant a written reply
• 不予受理 — decline to accept [a case/application]
• 予以批准 — grant approval

Fixed negative expressions with 不予, such as 不予退还、不予办理、不予置评, are especially common. In ordinary professional prose, 予以 is usually easier to handle than a freely used 予.

进行: turning an activity into the focus

进行 + activity noun means “conduct,” “carry out,” or simply “engage in.” An activity noun is a word or phrase that names an action as a thing, such as 讨论 “discussion,” 调查 “investigation,” or 评估 “assessment.”

• 双方将进行讨论。 — The two sides will hold a discussion.
• 专家对方案进行了评估。 — Experts evaluated the plan.

The common structure is:

actor + 对/就 + topic + 进行 + activity

Use 进行 when the activity itself is being organized, scheduled, or described as a process. It is often unnecessary when a direct verb is clearer: 讨论方案 is normally more concise than 对方案进行讨论. The expanded version is justified when the report-like framing matters, when modifiers belong to the activity, or when several parallel procedures are listed.

加以: deliberately applying an action

加以 + verb means to apply an action to something already mentioned or introduced with 对. It often implies deliberate handling or improvement:

• 这些问题必须加以解决。 — These problems must be resolved.
• 应对现有流程加以改进。 — The existing process should be improved.

Typical partners include 分析、说明、限制、保护、利用、改进、解决、纠正. The object generally does not go between 加以 and the following verb. Say 对问题加以说明, not 加以问题说明.

A useful contrast is:

Form	Focus	Example
予以 + action	an official response or treatment	对违规行为予以处罚
加以 + action	deliberate handling of an existing matter	对薄弱环节加以改进
进行 + activity	the activity as a process	对事故进行调查

Document-centered words: 兹、本、该 and 如下

Some words locate a statement inside an official document:

• 兹 means “hereby” or “now, in this document.” It appears in formulas such as 兹通知如下、兹证明、兹定于.
• 本 + noun means “this” from the writer’s institutional perspective: 本公司 “this company/our company,” 本通知 “this notice,” 本规定 “these regulations.”
• 该 + noun refers back to a previously identified person, organization, matter, or document: 该项目 “the project in question,” 该申请人 “the applicant concerned.”
• 如下 introduces information that follows: 安排如下 “the arrangements are as follows.”

English speakers sometimes translate every “this” as 这. In formal documents, 本 establishes the issuing document or institution, while 该 points back to an entity already identified. Neither should replace 这 in ordinary conversation.

Organizing longer sentences

Formal Chinese often builds a sentence in layers:

background/condition + actor or scope + action + result/purpose

• 经研究，公司决定自下月起调整有关流程，以提高审批效率。 After review, the company has decided to adjust the relevant procedures starting next month in order to improve approval efficiency.

Common connectors include 鉴于 “in view of,” 根据 “according to,” 经 “after/by means of,” 为 “in order to,” 关于 “regarding,” 就 “with regard to,” 以及 “as well as,” and 从而 “thereby.” A clause (a group of words containing a statement or action) should still have an identifiable logical role. Use punctuation to separate background, main decision, and purpose.

Formal prose also omits an actor when the institution or procedure is obvious: 经审核，决定予以批准. This is compact, but a vague sentence can hide who decided what. Add the actor whenever responsibility matters.

Examples in Context

Chinese	English	Note
会议将于下周一上午九时举行。	The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. next Monday.	将于 introduces a scheduled event.
请将填写完整的表格提交至服务台。	Please submit the completed form to the service desk.	将 marks the affected object.
有关结果将另行公布。	The relevant results will be announced separately.	将 marks a future formal action.
经审核，现决定对该申请予以批准。	Following review, it has now been decided to approve the application.	Official decision and treatment.
对在项目中表现突出的员工，公司将予以表扬。	The company will commend employees who performed outstandingly in the project.	Recipient introduced with 对.
未按规定提交材料的，原则上不予受理。	Applications lacking the required materials will not, in principle, be accepted.	Fixed negative 不予 pattern.
调查组将对事故原因进行全面调查。	The investigation team will conduct a comprehensive investigation into the cause of the accident.	Modified, process-focused activity.
双方就后续合作进行了深入讨论。	The two sides held in-depth discussions on future cooperation.	就…进行… frames the topic.
对报告中存在的问题，应及时加以改进。	The problems in the report should be addressed and improved promptly.	Deliberate corrective action.
相关数据须妥善保存并加以保护。	The relevant data must be stored properly and protected.	加以 applies the second action to the data.
兹通知如下：办公时间自八月一日起调整。	Notice is hereby given as follows: office hours will change from August 1.	Conventional notice opening.
本规定适用于该机构所属各部门。	These regulations apply to all departments under the institution.	本 points to the current text; 该 to the institution concerned.
鉴于近期需求增加，本公司决定扩大服务范围。	In view of the recent increase in demand, our company has decided to expand its range of services.	Background before the main decision.
经充分协商，双方就合同内容达成一致。	After full consultation, the two parties reached agreement on the terms of the contract.	Compact formal sequencing.

Common Mistakes

Treating every 将 as a future marker

• Wrong interpretation: 请将文件交给前台 = “Please will give the document to reception.”
• Right interpretation: “Please give the document to reception.”
• Why: Here 将 + 文件 + 交给… is a formal counterpart of 把 + 文件 + 交给…. It foregrounds the object; it does not mark future time by itself.

Putting an ordinary object after 进行

• Wrong: 我们进行了这个问题。
• Right: 我们讨论了这个问题。 / 我们对这个问题进行了讨论。
• Why: 进行 takes an activity such as 讨论, not the topic 问题 directly.

Inserting the object inside 加以

• Wrong: 必须加以这些问题解决。
• Right: 必须对这些问题加以解决。 / 必须解决这些问题。
• Why: Introduce the matter with 对, or mention it first; 加以 stays directly before the action verb.

Using 予以 for a neutral everyday action

• Wrong: 我予以朋友一杯咖啡。
• Right: 我给朋友一杯咖啡。
• Why: 予以 does not replace everyday 给. It introduces a formal action or treatment, usually expressed by another verb: 予以批准、予以支持.

Confusing 本 and 该

• Awkward: 该通知自发布之日起生效。 when the sentence occurs inside the notice itself
• Better: 本通知自发布之日起生效。
• Why: 本通知 means “this notice” as the current document. 该通知 normally refers back to another notice already mentioned.

Making every sentence sound official

• Overwritten: 本人将于今晚与您进行用餐。
• Natural: 我今晚和你一起吃饭。
• Why: 本人、将、进行 are mismatched with an ordinary personal plan. Formality must fit the situation.

Usage Notes

Formal does not always mean polite. 不予受理 is official and impersonal, but it can sound blunt. A client-facing message may need a reason and a next step: 因材料不全，暂无法受理。请补充以下材料后重新提交。 This is often more helpful than merely adding formal vocabulary.

Many formal expressions are collocations—word combinations that conventionally occur together. Learn 予以批准、予以确认、加以改进、进行调查、另行通知 as units. Grammatically possible combinations can still sound unnatural if institutions do not normally phrase them that way.

Written Chinese also prefers some compact prepositions and connectors that are rare in casual speech. 于 may mark time, place, comparison, or a passive-like relation: 于周五公布、位于市中心、优于原方案. Use it selectively. Replacing every 在 with 于, or every 和 with 以及, does not automatically improve a text.

Official language varies by genre and region. Mainland Chinese administrative texts commonly use the patterns described here, but individual organizations, legal systems, and publications have their own templates. For high-stakes legal or regulatory writing, follow the relevant official model rather than relying on general grammar alone.

Beyond the Basics: Information Structure and Style

The strongest formal writing controls what readers notice first. Compare:

• 我们已经修改了方案。 — We have revised the plan.
• 方案已经修改。 — The plan has been revised.
• 我们已对方案作出修改。 — We have made revisions to the plan.
• 经研究，现对原方案作如下修改。 — Following review, the original plan is hereby amended as follows.

All four may describe a similar event. The first highlights the actor; the second highlights the result; the third treats the change as a formal action; the fourth frames amendments inside a document and prepares a list. Choose the structure according to the document’s purpose, not according to a simple scale from “easy” to “advanced.”

Nominalization—presenting an action as a noun-like unit—helps formal prose coordinate several processes: 开展调查、作出决定、提出申请、进行评估. It also allows modifiers such as 全面、初步、进一步 to describe the process. Yet direct verbs are often stronger: 评估风险 is shorter than 对风险进行评估. During revision, test whether removing 进行 or 予以 changes the meaning, emphasis, or rhythm. If it does not, the direct verb may be better.

Parallel structure is especially valuable in long sentences. Items joined by 并、以及、同时 should have compatible forms:

• Clear: 完善制度、简化流程并加强监督 — improve systems, simplify procedures, and strengthen oversight
• Uneven: 对制度进行完善、流程简化并且监督要加强

Finally, distinguish genuine formal Chinese from unnecessary bureaucratic padding. Strings such as 进行深入地研究分析 may contain an adverb error and too many verbal layers. Depending on the intended meaning, use 进行深入研究, 深入分析, or 深入研究并分析. Precision outranks heaviness.

Practice Tips

1. Build collocation sets. Make four columns headed 将、予以、进行、加以. Add complete phrases from real notices and reports, such as 将另行通知、予以确认、进行评估、加以说明, rather than memorizing isolated words.
2. Rewrite in both directions. Turn a conversational sentence such as 我们下周讨论这个问题 into a suitable notice: 有关部门将于下周就该问题进行讨论. Then simplify an overformal sentence back into clear everyday Chinese. This trains register choice, not just recognition.
3. Edit for function. In your own formal paragraph, underline each formal marker and ask what it contributes: future scheduling, object focus, official treatment, process framing, or document reference. Delete markers that contribute nothing.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Classical Chinese Elements — helps explain the compact literary forms that survive in modern formal prose.
• Related: Business Chinese — applies formal register to correspondence, negotiation, and workplace communication.
• Related: Abstract Grammar Patterns — develops the structures used to express complex relationships and arguments.
• Related: Rhetorical Patterns — shows how parallelism and other patterns shape polished writing.
• Next step: News and Official Style — extends these choices into specialized public and institutional genres.
• Next step: Register Switching — practices choosing between conversational, neutral, formal, and literary alternatives.