Day 157: Use although for contrast and while for time.

To help readers understand your message with as little effort as possible, you will want to use unambiguous words, i.e., words that mean exactly and only what you are trying to communicate. You want the readers to think about the content, not work to understand your writing.

One example of this is the choice between although and while. The word although establishes a contrast, as in

广告：个人专属 VPN，独立 IP，无限流量，多机房切换，还可以屏蔽广告和恶意软件，每月最低仅 5 美元

“Although he was old, he was very active.”

I have seen many writers use while in place of although, as in

“While he was old, he was very active.”

This is technically correct. While can be used to establish a contrast.

However, while is most commonly associated with time, as in

“He was singing while showering.”

Upon reading “while,” the reader may first assume that you are referring to time, and then be required to re-read the sentence to understand the correct meaning. This is too much work.

Our advice, use although and not while to establish contrast. A better, clearer way to write the previous example is as follows.

“Although he was showering, he was singing.”