Reduplication of adjectives

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One of the charming features of Chinese is reduplication (repeating, or doubling up) of certain words and characters, including adjectives. Reduplication can enhance the descriptive feeling of an adjective.

One-Syllable Adjectives (AA)

If an adjective is only one syllable (one character), then reduplicating it is a no-brainer. The only tricky part about this pattern is that not all adjectives can be reduplicated in natural speech. It's mostly for adjectives that describe the physical world: colors, sizes, shapes, and other physical descriptors.

Structure

Adj. + Adj. + 的 (+ Noun)

In most Chinese textbooks and grammar books, this is known as the "AA" pattern. We'll be using this form more extensively below:

A A + 的 (+ Noun)

Note that this pattern is also identical to single-syllable reduplication of verbs.

Examples

  • 你 的 脸 红 红 的 。Nǐ de liǎn hóng hóng de.Your face is red.
  • 宝宝 的 眼睛 大 大 的 。Bǎobao de yǎnjīng dà dà de.The baby's eyes are big.
  • 今晚 的 月亮 圆 圆 的 。Jīnwǎn de yuèliàng yuán yuán de.The moon is round tonight.
  • 她 爸爸 高 高 胖 胖 的 。Tā bàba gāo gāo pàng pàng de.Her father is tall and fat.
  • 我 妹妹 瘦 瘦 小 小 的 。Wǒ mèimei shòu shòu xiǎo xiǎo de.My little sister is thin and small.

Two-Syllable Adjectives (AABB)

If the adjective has more than one character, then you should repeat each character individually (rather than the whole word). This is known as the "AABB" pattern.

Structure

In the structure below, the original two-character adjective (such as 高兴, 漂亮) is "AB," where the first character of the adjective is represented by "A," and the second by "B."

A A B B + 的 (+ Noun)

Examples

Not all two-syllable adjectives are used in AABB form, but here are some common examples of AB adjectives represented in AABB form.

  • 高兴 → 高高兴兴 gāoxìng ￫ gāogāo-xìngxìnghappy
  • 热闹 → 热热闹闹 rènao ￫ rèrè-nāonāonoisy, boisterous
  • 漂亮 → 漂漂亮亮 piàoliang ￫ piàopiào-liāngliāngpretty
  • 舒服 → 舒舒服服 shūfu ￫ shūshū-fūfūcomfortable
  • 安静 → 安安静静 ānjìng ￫ ānān-jìngjìngquiet and still

Not all adjectives can take AABB form. Here are some examples of common adjectives that don't work in AABB form.

  • 好吃 → 好好吃吃 hǎochī ￫ hǎohǎo-chīchī tasty
  • 便宜 → 便便宜宜 piányi ￫ piánpián-yíyícheap
  • 麻烦 → 麻麻烦烦 máfan ￫ mámá-fánfán bothersome

Used as Adverbs (AABB)

When adjectives are used as adverbs to modify verbs, you can reduplicate the adjective using the AABB pattern.

Structure

AABB + 地 + Verb

Note: The "AABB" pattern for reduplication of two-syllable adjectives contrasts with the "ABAB" pattern for reduplication of two-syllable verbs.

Examples

  • 我们 清清楚楚 地 看到 他 跟 一 个 胖 胖 的 男人 上 车 了 。Wǒmen qīngqīng-chǔchǔ de kàndào tā gēn yī gè pàng pàng de nánrén shàngchē le.We clearly saw him get in the car with a fat man.
  • 我 真 想 舒舒服服 地 躺 在 沙发 上 看 电视 。Wǒ zhēn xiǎng shūshū-fūfū de tǎng zài shāfā shàng kàn diànshì.I'd really like to comfortably lie on the couch and watch TV.
  • 你 妈妈 辛辛苦苦 地 做 了 两 个 小时 的 饭，你 怎么 不 吃 ？Nǐ māma xīnxīn-kǔkǔ de zuò le liǎng gè xiǎoshí de fàn, nǐ zěnme bù chī?Your mother labored over this meal for two hours, and you aren't going to eat it?

Used as Predicates (ABAB)

If you use an adjective as a predicate, then you're basically using the adjective like a verb, and you reduplicate it as you would a verb, which means ABAB form. Using an adjective in this way is roughly equivalent to using 一下 after the (non-reduplicated) adjective.

Structure

To use a reduplicated adjective as a predicate, follow this structure:

Subj. + ABAB

or

Subj. + AB + 一下

In the pattern above there's no verb because when an adjective serves as the predicate, it does the job of a verb. Notice also that there's no 的 after the ABAB, because 的 is used when modifying nouns.

Examples

  • 妹妹 快 过 生日 了 ，我 打算 给 她 办 一 个 生日 派对 ，热闹 热闹 。Mèimei kuài guò shēngrì le, wǒ dǎsuàn gěi tā bàn yī gè shēngrì pàiduì, rènao rènao.My little sister's birthday is coming and I plan to throw her a birthday party and have a blast.
  • 来 ，喝 点 酒 ，高兴 高兴 。Lái, hē diǎn jiǔ, gāoxìng gāoxìng.Come on, have a little wine and enjoy yourself.
  • 到 这里 来 凉快 凉快 。Dào zhèlǐ lái liángkuai liángkuai.Come over here and cool off.
  • 我 想 去 外面 走走 ，安静 一下 。Wǒ xiǎng qù wàimiàn zǒuzou, ānjìng yīxià.I'd like to take a walk outside, get some quiet time.
  • 想 不 想 去 做 个 按摩 ，放松 一下 。Xiǎng bu xiǎng qù zuò gè ànmó, fàngsōng yīxià.Would you like to go get a massage and unwind?

Sources and further reading

Books

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