Separable verb

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Also known as: 离合词 (líhécí) and verb-object phrase.

"Separable verbs" get their name from their ability to "separate" into two parts (a verb part and an object part), with other words in between. In fact, you could also simply call separable verbs "verb-object phrases."

What They Are

Purely from the "separable" aspect, Mandarin's separable verbs have a counterpart in English: phrasal verbs (also called two-word verbs). While the grammatical components of English's phrasal verbs are different, the "separable" quality works in a very similar way. Take the phrasal verb "check out" for example:

  • Check out my new computer.
  • Check my new computer out.

Do you see what happened there? The verb "check out" can split into two parts (a verb and a preposition), and other words can go in between those two parts. Separable verbs work much the same way in Chinese, except that the two parts are a verb and an object (a noun).

Let's look at a typical example in Chinese, using the verb 见面, meaning "to meet."

  • 我们 明天 见面 。no separatingWǒmen míngtiān jiànmiàn.
  • 我们 昨天 见 了 面 。separated, 了 insertedWǒmen zuótiān jiàn le miàn.
  • 我们 见 过 面 。separated, 过insertedWǒmen jiàn guo miàn.

Below we will introduce separable verbs in more detail, provide more examples, and also offer more specific cases of where separable verbs can get tricky.

Why Use Them

If separable verbs are simply verb-object phrases, then why the special name? It's because there are some special features of Chinese verb-object phrases worth special attention, and the name "separable verbs" helps call attention to this. Mastering separable verbs can be a little tricky, and is an essential objective of the intermediate (B1) level learner of Chinese.

Separable verbs are just one of those things you can't avoid. Many extremely common verbs, such as "to sleep" (睡觉) or "to meet" (见面) are separable verbs, and until you understand which verbs are separable verbs and how they work, you'll forever be making mistakes with these verbs, even in very basic sentences.

How to Use Them

First, you need to understand the structure of separable verbs. Most separable verbs are a "Verb + Object" (the object is a noun) construct. One might wonder, then, why there needs to be a separate category called "separable verbs" instead of just thinking of them as a verb and an object. There are several reasons to think of them as special verbs:

  1. Many separable verbs can't be easily translated into other languages in a way that makes both the verb and the object part clear. For example, 睡觉 (to sleep), 游泳 (to swim), or 结婚 (to get married). In these examples, it's just not easy to think of the objects as an object.
  2. The relationship between the verb and the object in a separable verb pair is very close; adding the object to the verb is sort of the "default form" of the verb, even if the verb part can be used without the object.
  3. Separable verbs are a source of frequent errors from learners of Chinese. No matter how you think of them, it's good to give these "words" or "phrases" extra attention to make your Chinese more natural.

The key to using separable verbs correctly is to remember that they are "Verb + Object" constructs. The verb alone must be treated as a verb, and the object cannot be treated as a verb. It's from this essential relationship that the following principles flow:

Common Examples

  • 我 想 跟 你 见面 。Wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ jiànmiàn.the prepositional phrase, literally "with you," comes before the verb
  • 我 想 见面 你 。Wǒ xiǎng jiànmiàn nǐ.你 is an extra object; 面 is already the object
  • 我们 都 可以 帮忙 。Wǒmen dōu kěyǐ bāngmáng.All of us can help you with this.
  • 我们 都 可以 帮忙 你 。Wǒmen dōu kěyǐ bāngmáng nǐ.你 is an extra object; 忙, which means "a favor", is already the object
  • 我 想 跟 她 结婚 。Wǒ xiǎng gēn tā jiéhūn.the prepositional phrase, literally "with her," comes before the verb
  • 我 想 结婚 她 。Wǒ xiǎng jiéhūn tā.她 is an extra object; 婚 is already the object
  • 他 不 喜欢 聊 他 的 工作 。Tā bù xǐhuan liáo tā de gōngzuò.He doesn't like to talk about his work.
  • 他 不 喜欢 跟 我 聊天 他 的 工作 。Tā bù xǐhuan liátiān tā de gōngzuò.天 is an extra object; 他的工作 is already the object.
  • 他 下个月 离职 。Tā xià gè yuè lízhí.He will leave his job next month.
  • 他 下个月 离职 他 的 工作 。Tā xià gè yuè lízhí tā de gōngzuò.他的工作 is an extra object; 职, which means "job," is already the object

Used with 了, 着, 过

  • 见 了 面 jiàn le miàn
  • 见 过 面 jiàn guo miàn
  • 结 了 婚 jié le hūn
  • 结 过 婚 jié guo hūn
  • 开 了 会 kāi le huì
  • 开 过 会 kāi guo huì
  • 开 着 会 kāi zhe huì
  • 吃 了 饭 chī le fàn
  • 吃 过 饭 chī guo fàn
  • 吃 着 饭 chī zhe fàn

Note: unlike the particles 过 and 着, the particle 了 is especially tricky, and it can also appear after the object. So it can be correct in multiple places.

Used with Measure Words

  • 见 个 面 吧 。Jiàn gè miànLet's meet.
  • 我们 见 过 三 次 面 Wǒmen jiàn guo sān cì miànWe've met three times.
  • 什么时候 有空 ，出来 吃 个 饭 吧 。Shénme shíhou yǒu kòng, chūlái chī gè fànba.When you're available, let's go out for dinner.
  • 老板 请 大家 吃 了 一 顿 饭 Lǎobǎn qǐng dàjiā chī le yī dùn fàn.The boss invited everyone to dinner.
  • 希望 你 今晚 睡 个 好 觉 。Xīwàng nǐ jīnwǎn shuì gè hǎo jiào.I hope you can have some good sleep tonight.
  • 昨晚 我 只 睡 了 一 个 小时 觉 。Zuówǎn wǒ zhǐ shuì le yī gè xiǎoshí jiào.I only slept one hour last night.
  • 他 爷爷 结 过 三 次 婚 。Tā yéye jié guo sān cì hūn.His grandpa got married three times.

How to Reduplicate

Reduplication is a way to express the casual nature of a verb, or that it happens only briefly. When it comes to separable verbs, only the verb part reduplicates.

  • 见 见 面jiàn jiàn miànthe proper reduplication repeats only the verb 见)
  • 见面 见面jiànmiàn jiànmiàn
  • 吃 吃 饭chī chī fànthe proper reduplication repeats only the verb 吃)
  • 吃饭吃饭 chīfàn chīfàn饭 is the object; it should not be repeated.)
  • 散 散 步sàn sàn bùthe proper reduplication repeats only the verb 散)
  • 散步散步sàn bù sànbù 步 is the object; it should not be repeated.)

Note that separable verbs can't used with 一下 to express it happens briefly.

  • 见面 一下jiànmiàn yīxià
  • 散步一下 sànbù yīxià

Common examples

Perhaps the most common examples of separable verbs that beginners struggle with are 见面 and 睡觉. For a more complete list, see the list of separable verbs.

Academic debate

There is some debate as to how useful the concept of separable verbs really is. For our purposes, we're only concerned with whether or not separable verbs are a useful concept for the student of Mandarin Chinese. Many learners do, in fact, find the concept to be quite useful in helping them speak more natural Chinese.

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites

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