Reduplication of verbs

One of the fun things about Chinese is that when speaking, 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 。 Nǐ kān kān. (You) Take a little look.
• 我 试 试 。 Wǒ shì shì. I'll give it a little try.
• 你 听 听 。 Nǐ tīng tīng. (You) Listen for a bit.
• 你 说 说 你 的 想法 。 Nǐ shuō shuō nǐ de xiǎngfǎ. Talk a little bit about your opinion.
• 周末 跟 朋友 吃 吃 饭 ， 很 好 。 Zhōumò gēn péngyǒu chī chī fàn, hěn hǎo. During the weekend, eat a little bit with friends, it's awesome.
• 我 喜欢 写 写 东西 。 Wǒ xǐhuan xiě xiě dōngxī. When I have nothing to do, I like to write a little bit.
• 洗 洗 你 的 臭 袜子 吧 ！ Xǐ xǐ nǐ de chòu wàzi bā! Wash your stinky socks a bit!
• 不要 生气 了 ， 笑 笑 ！ Bùyào shēngqì le, xiào xiào! Don't get mad, laugh a little!
• 快点 去 问 问 厕所 在 哪 里 。 Kuàidiǎn qù wèn wèn cèsuǒ zài nǎ lǐ. Hurry and go ask where the bathroom is.
• 我 想 出去 走 走 。 Wǒ xiǎng chūqù zǒu zǒu. 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?
• 我 们 聊一聊 吧。Lets talk a bit.

Using this kind of structure lightens up the mood and seriousness of the question. It also adds variety to sentence structure.Because these phrases are used colloquially there is not set rule to which verbs this can be applied to. Obviously, there are some verbs are often be reduplicated and some verbs that sound weird when reduplicated. With practice, you will learn which ones are often used.

See also

• Softening speech with "ba"

Sources and further reading

Books

• New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (p. 18) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (p. 85) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 227-8) →buy
• Contemporary Chinese 1 (当代中文1) (p. 125) →buy
• Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼) (pp. 152-160) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (p. 121-2) →buy