Reduplication of adjectives

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

One-Syllable Adjectives (AA)

If an adjective is only one syllable (one character), then reduplicating it is a no-brainer. In most Chinese textbooks and grammar books, this is known as the "AA" pattern.

Structure

Adj + Adj + 的 (+ Noun)

Another way of putting that (and we'll be using this form more extensively below) is:

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.
• 果汁 甜 甜 的。Guǒzhī tián tián de. Fruit juice is sweet.
• 他 爸爸 高 高 的。Tā bàba gāo gāo de. His father is tall.
• 我 女朋友 胖 胖 的。Wǒ nǚpéngyou pàng pàng de. My girlfriend is chubby.
• 宝宝 的 眼睛 大 大 的。Bǎobao de yǎnjīng dà dà de.The baby's eyes are big.

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 ￫ gāo gāo xìng xìnghappy
• 开心 → 开开心心 kāixīn ￫ kāi kāi xīn xīnhappy
• 热闹 → 热热闹闹 rènao ￫ rè rè nāo nāoexciting
• 干净 → 干干净净 gānjìng ￫ gān gān jìng jìngclean
• 漂亮 → 漂漂亮亮 piàoliang ￫ piào piào liāng liāngpretty
• 舒服 → 舒舒服服 shūfu ￫ shū shū fū fūcomfortable
• 安静 → 安安静静 ānjìng ￫ ān ān jìng jìngpeaceful
• 健康 → 健健康康 jiànkāng ￫ jiàn jiàn kāng kānghealthy
• 辛苦 → 辛辛苦苦 xīnkǔ ￫ xīn xīn kǔ kǔhard
• 清楚 → 清清楚楚 qīngchu ￫ qīng qīng chǔ chǔclear
• 大方 → 大大方方 dàfāng ￫ dà da fāng fānggenerous

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

• 便宜 → 便便宜宜 piányi ￫ piánpiányíyícheap
• 好吃 → 好好吃吃 hǎochī ￫ hǎo hǎo chī chī tasty
• 麻烦 → 麻麻烦烦 máfan ￫ má má fán fán bothersome
• 友好 → 友友好好 yǒuhǎo ￫ yǒu yǒu hǎo hǎo friendly
• 小气 → 小小气气xiǎoqì ￫ xiǎo xiǎo qì qì stingy

Using Reduplicated Adjectives as Adverbs (AABB)

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

Structure

A A B B + 地 + Verb

Examples

• 过年 的 时候 ，我们 全 家人 都 聚 在 一起 ，热 热 闹 闹 地 吃 年夜饭 。Guònián de shíhou, wǒmen quánjiā rén dōu jù zài yīqǐ, rè rè nāo nāo de chī niányè fàn.At Chinese New Year, our whole family gathers together and joyously shares a New Year's Eve meal.
• 听到 这 个 消息，她 高高兴兴 地 走 了。Tīng dào zhè ge xiāoxī, tā gāo gāo xìng xìng de zǒu le.Upon hearing the news, he happily left.
• 我 清清楚楚 地 看到 他 跟 一 个 胖胖的 男人 上 车 了。Wǒ qīng qīng chǔ chǔ de kàn dào tā gēn yīgè pàng pàng de nánrén shàng chēle.I clearly saw him get in the car with a fat man.
• 我 现在 真 想 舒舒服服 地 躺 在 沙发 上 看 电视。Wǒ xiànzài zhēn xiǎng shū shū fú fú de tǎng zài shāfā shàng kàn diànshì.Right now I'd really like to comfortably lie on the couch and watch TV.
• 我 辛辛苦苦 地 做 了 两 个 小时 的 饭，你们 都 不 吃？辛辛苦苦 is difficult to translate into English directly!Wǒ xīn xīn kǔ kǔ de zuòle liǎng gè xiǎoshí de fàn, nǐmen dōu bù chī?I labored over this meal for two hours, and none of you guys are going to eat it?

Using Reduplicated Adjectives 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 for ABAB

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

Subject + A B A B

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 it's not acting as an adjective.

Examples of ABAB

• 妹妹 快 过 生日 了 ，我 打算 给 她 办 一 个 生日 派对 ，热闹 热闹 。Mèimei kuàiguò shēngrìle, wǒ dǎsuàn gěi tā bàn yīgè shēngrì pàiduì, rènao rènao. My little sister's birthday is coming and I'm going 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 做 个 按摩， 放松 放松。Wǒ xiǎng qù zuò gè ànmó, fāngsōng fāngsōng. I'm going to go get a massage and unwind.

Structure for AB 一下

The above structure is essentially equivalent to this one:

Subj. + A B + 一下

Examples of AB 一下

• 妹妹 快 过 生日 了 ，我 打算 给 她 办 一 个 生日 派对 ，热闹 一下 。Mèimei kuàiguò shēngrìle, wǒ dǎsuàn gěi tā bàn yīgè shēngrì pàiduì, rènao yīxià.My little sister's birthday is coming and I'm going to throw her a birthday party and have a blast.
• 来，喝 点 酒， 高兴 一下。Lái, hē diǎn jiǔ, gāoxìng yīxià.Come on, have a little wine and enjoy yourself.
• 到 这里 来 凉快 一下。Dào zhèlǐ lái liángkuai yīxià.Come over here and cool off.
• 我 想 去 做 个 按摩， 轻松 一下。Wǒ xiǎng qù zuò gè ànmó, qīngsōng yīxià.I'm going to go get a massage and unwind.
• 洗 个 澡 吧， 舒服 一下。Xǐ gè zǎo ba, shūfu yīxià.Have a shower and get comfortable.

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

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (p. 53) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 189-90) →buy
• Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 32-6) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 50) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 103-4) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (pp. 271-2)→buy