How to use 更不用说
Established case，更不用说 + further case (+ 了)
更不用说 extends a conclusion to another case that follows even more readily. The first clause supplies evidence: if the statement holds there, it applies all the more to the case after 更不用说. This often resembles let alone or not to mention. The relationship depends on a shared scale of likelihood, difficulty, closeness, or another relevant comparison.
A preceding 连…都 clause makes the reasoning especially explicit by highlighting the surprising first case. The phrase after 更不用说 can be short because the rest of the predicate is understood. Keep the direction of inference clear; without a sensible ordering between the cases, the sentence becomes an unrelated list rather than a persuasive extension.
Examples with pinyin and English
连我都不知道这个歌手， 更不用说他了。
I don't even know the singer, let alone him.
连家人都不理解你， 更不用说其他的人了。
Even your family doesn't understand you, let alone other people.
连周末都要加班， 更不用说工作日了。
I have to work overtime even on weekends, not to mention work days.
这里连我都住不下去， 更不用说你了。
I can't even keep living here, let alone you.
What to remember
- Establish the first case before 更不用说.
- Make the second case follow even more clearly.
- Omit a repeated predicate only when context makes it clear.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.