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

• 妈妈的手 暖暖的。Māmā de shǒu nuǎn nuǎn de.Mother's hands are warm.
• 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 高高的。Tā gāo gāo de.He's tall.
• 路 长长的。Lù zhǎng zhǎng de.The road is long.
• 这 只 小猫 黑黑的。Zhè zhǐ xiǎo māo hēi hēi de.This kitten is black.
• 我 的 女朋友 胖胖的。Wǒ de nǚ péngyǒu pàng pàng de.My girlfriend is chubby.
• 这 个 小 女孩 的 眼睛 大大的。Zhè gè xiǎo nǚhái de yǎnjīng dàdà de.This little girl's eyes are big.
• 宝宝 的 手 小小的。Bǎobǎo de shǒu xiǎo xiǎo de.The baby's hands are small.
• 房间 里 热热的。Fángjiān lǐ rè rè de.It's hot in the room.
• 北京 的 秋天 凉凉的。Běijīng de qiūtiān liáng liáng de.Beijing's autumns are cool.

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 happy
• 开心 → 开开心心 happy
• 热闹 → 热热闹闹 happy
• 干净 → 干干净净 clean
• 漂亮 → 漂漂亮亮 pretty
• 舒服 → 舒舒服服 comfortable
• 安静 → 安安静静 peaceful
• 健康 → 健健康康 healthy
• 辛苦 → 辛辛苦苦 hard
• 清楚 → 清清楚楚 clear
• 大方 → 大大方方 generous

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

• 好看 → 好好看看 good-looking
• 好吃 → 好好吃吃 tasty
• 麻烦 → 麻麻烦烦 bothersome
• 友好 → 友友好好 friendly
• 小气 → 小小气气 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 。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。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。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。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!)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

• 结婚 的 时候 ，人们 喜欢 热闹 热闹。People prefer to set off the fireworks to celebrate when they get married.
• 妹妹 快 过 生日 了 ，我 打算 给 她 办 一 个 生日 派对 ，热闹 热闹 。My little sister's birthday is coming and I'm going to celebrate it by throwing her a birthday party.
• 来，喝 两 杯 酒， 高兴 高兴。C'mon, have a few glasses of wine and enjoy yourself.
• 到 这里 来， 凉快 凉快。Come over here and cool off.
• 我 想 去 做 个 按摩， 轻松 轻松。I'm going to go get a massage and unwind.
• 洗 个 澡 吧， 舒服 舒服。Have a shower and get comfortable.

Structure for AB 一下

The above structure is essentially equivalent to this one:

Subject + A B + 一下

Examples of AB 一下

• 结婚 的 时候 ，人们 喜欢 热闹 一下。People prefer to set off the fireworks to celebrate when they get married.
• 妹妹 快 过 生日 了 ，我 打算 给 她 办 一 个 生日 派对 ，热闹 一下 。My little sister's birthday is coming and I'm going to celebrate it by throwing her a birthday party.
• 来，喝 两 杯 酒， 高兴 一下。C'mon, have a few glasses of wine and enjoy yourself.
• 到 这里 来， 凉快 一下。Come over here and cool off.
• 我 想 去 做 个 按摩， 轻松 一下。I'm going to go get a massage and unwind.
• 洗 个 澡 吧， 舒服 一下。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