Difference between revisions of "Reduplication of verbs"
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| + | One of the fun things about Chinese is that you can repeat certain things to express "a little bit", similar to how in some Latin languages you can add a bit to the end of a word to make it "cute". | ||
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| − | * 你 <em>看看</em>。 | + | * 你 <em>看看</em>。<span class="trans">(You) Take a little look.</span> |
| − | * 我 <em>试试</em>。 | + | * 我 <em>试试</em>。<span class="trans">I'll give it a little try.</span> |
| − | * 你 <em>听听</em>。 | + | * 你 <em>听听</em>。<span class="trans">(You) Listen for a bit.</span> |
</div> | </div> | ||
Revision as of 01:35, 31 January 2013
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| This article is a stub. Editors can help the Chinese Grammar Wiki by expanding it. |
One of the fun things about Chinese is that you can repeat certain things to express "a little bit", similar to how in some Latin languages you can add a bit to the end of a word to make it "cute".
Structure
In Chinese, verbs can be reduplicated to indicate that they happen briefly or "a little bit".
Subject + Verb + Verb
Examples
- 你 看看。(You) Take a little look.
- 我 试试。I'll give it a little try.
- 你 听听。(You) Listen for a bit.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 18) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 227-8) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (pp. 85) →buy
- Contemporary Chinese 1 (当代中文1) (pp. 125) →buy
- Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼) (pp. 152-160) →buy
