Difference between revisions of "Reduplication of verbs"
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− | * 你 <em>看 看</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>kàn kàn</em>.</span> <span class="trans">(You) Take a little look.</span> | + | * 你 <em>看 看</em>。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>kàn kàn</em>. </span> <span class="trans">(You) Take a little look. </span> |
− | * 我 <em>试 试</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>shì shì</em>.</span> <span class="trans">I'll give it a little try.</span> | + | * 我 <em>试 试</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>shì shì</em>. </span> <span class="trans">I'll give it a little try. </span> |
− | * <em>说 说</em> 你 的 | + | * <em>说 说</em> 你 的 想法。<span class="pinyin"><em>Shuō shuō</em> nǐ de xiǎngfǎ. </span> <span class="trans">Talk a little bit about your opinion. </span> |
− | * <em> | + | * 出去 <em>玩 玩</em> 吧!<span class="pinyin">Chūqù <em>wán wán</em> ba! </span> <span class="trans">Go out and have fun! </span> |
− | * 我 想 出去 <em>走 走</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ xiǎng chūqù <em>zǒu zǒu</em>.</span> <span class="trans">I want to go out and walk for a bit.</span> | + | * 我 想 出去 <em>走 走</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ xiǎng chūqù <em>zǒu zǒu</em>. </span> <span class="trans">I want to go out and walk for a bit. </span> |
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Revision as of 06:35, 23 November 2015
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One of the fun things about Chinese is that when speaking, you can repeat certain things to express "a little bit." This is similar to how in some Latin languages you can add "a bit" to the end of a word to make it "cute."
Contents
Reduplication with VV pattern
Structure
In Chinese, verbs can be reduplicated to indicate that they happen briefly or "a little bit."
Subj. + Verb + Verb
Examples
- 你 看 看。(You) Take a little look.
- 我 试 试。I'll give it a little try.
- 说 说 你 的 想法。Talk a little bit about your opinion.
- 出去 玩 玩 吧!Go out and have fun!
- 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
- 别 生气 了 , 笑 一 笑 嘛 ! Don't get mad, smile a little bit!
- 这 个 周末 我们 想 去 杭州 玩 一 玩 。 This weekend, we want to go 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?
- 你 现在 有时间 吗?我们 聊一聊 吧 。Do you have a second? Lets talk a bit.
Using this kind of structure lightens 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 that are often reduplicated and some verbs that sound weird when reduplicated. With practice, you will learn which ones are often used.
ABAB Reduplication with Two-Syllable Verbs
In the examples below, all verbs are only one syllable. Those verbs get reduplicated a lot, so those examples are quite useful. Occasionally, though, two-syllable verbs get reduplicated as well. When this happens, it's important to use the "ABAB" pattern for verbs, and not the "AABB" pattern you use for adjectives.
Examples
- 考虑 考虑 think it over
- 讨论 讨论 discuss it
- 商量 商量 talk it over
- 打听 打听 inquire about it
See also
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