Difference between revisions of "Reduplication of verbs"
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* 你 <em>听 一 听</em> 。<span class="trans">(You) Listen a bit.</span>
 
* 你 <em>听 一 听</em> 。<span class="trans">(You) Listen a bit.</span>
 
* 去 <em>试 一 试</em> 。<span class="trans">(You) Go and try it a bit.</span>
 
* 去 <em>试 一 试</em> 。<span class="trans">(You) Go and try it a bit.</span>
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* 请 老师 给 我们 <em>说 一 说</em>。<span class="trans">Teacher, please explain it to us a little.</span>
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* 请 老师 给 我们 <em>说 一 说</em>。<span class="trans">Teacher, please explain it to us a bit.</span>
 
* 我 跟 你 <em>练 一 练</em> 中文 吧。<span class="trans">Practice Chinese a little bit with me.</span>
 
* 我 跟 你 <em>练 一 练</em> 中文 吧。<span class="trans">Practice Chinese a little bit with me.</span>
 
* 我们 出去<em>走 一 走</em> 吧。<span class="trans">Let's go out side to walk for a bit.</span>
 
* 我们 出去<em>走 一 走</em> 吧。<span class="trans">Let's go out side to walk for a bit.</span>
 
* 别 生气 了，<em>笑 一 笑</em> 嘛！<span class="trans">Don't get mad, laugh a little bit!</span>
 
* 别 生气 了，<em>笑 一 笑</em> 嘛！<span class="trans">Don't get mad, laugh a little bit!</span>
 
* 周末 我们 想 去 杭州 <em>玩 一 玩</em> 。<span class="trans">When it's the weekend, we should think about going to Hangzhou for some fun.</span>
 
* 周末 我们 想 去 杭州 <em>玩 一 玩</em> 。<span class="trans">When it's the weekend, we should think about going to Hangzhou for some fun.</span>
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* 你 <em>问 一 问</em> 他们 厕所 在 哪里。<span class="trans">(You), ask them a bit where the bathroom is.</span>
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* 你 <em>问 一 问</em> 他们 厕所 在 哪里。<span class="trans">(You), ask them where the bathroom is.</span>
 
* 我 可以 <em>用 一 用</em> 你 的 电脑 吗？<span class="trans">Can I use your computer for a little bit?</span>
 
* 我 可以 <em>用 一 用</em> 你 的 电脑 吗？<span class="trans">Can I use your computer for a little bit?</span>
  
 
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Using this kind of structure lightens up the mood and seriousness of the question. It also adds variety to sentence structure.
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==

Revision as of 08:56, 24 September 2014

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".

Reduplication with VV pattern

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.
  • 你 说 说 你 的 想法。Talk a little bit about your opinion.
  • 周末 跟 朋友 吃 吃 饭，很 好。During the weekend, eat a little bit with friends, it's awesome.
  • 我 喜欢 写 写 东西。When I have nothing to do, I like to write a little bit.
  • 洗 洗 你 的 臭 袜子 吧！Wash your stinky socks a bit!
  • 不要 生气 了，笑 笑 ！Don't get mad, laugh a little!
  • 快点 去 问 问 厕所 在 哪 里。Hurry and go ask where the bathroom is.
  • 我 想 出去 走 走。I want to go out and walk for a bit.

Reduplication with "一"

Structure

Another way to reduplicate verbs is to insert 一 (yī), in the following structure:

Verb + 一 + Verb

Examples

  • 给 我 看 一 看 。Let me look a little.
  • 你 听 一 听 。(You) Listen a bit.
  • 去 试 一 试 。(You) Go and try it a bit.
  • 请 老师 给 我们 说 一 说。Teacher, please explain it to us a bit.
  • 我 跟 你 练 一 练 中文 吧。Practice Chinese a little bit with me.
  • 我们 出去走 一 走 吧。Let's go out side to walk for a bit.
  • 别 生气 了，笑 一 笑 嘛！Don't get mad, laugh a little bit!
  • 周末 我们 想 去 杭州 玩 一 玩 。When it's the weekend, we should think about going to Hangzhou for some fun.
  • 你 问 一 问 他们 厕所 在 哪里。(You), ask them where the bathroom is.
  • 我 可以 用 一 用 你 的 电脑 吗？Can I use your computer for a little bit?

Using this kind of structure lightens up the mood and seriousness of the question. It also adds variety to sentence structure.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

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