Reduplication of measure words

Revision as of 06:16, 23 May 2019 by WikiSysop (talk | contribs)
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If you know what a measure word is and how to use it, you may be ready for this pattern, where the measure word can repeat, or "reduplicate." It's not a terribly common structure, but the two most common examples of it are 个个 and 天天. It adds the meaning of "every" to the noun that follows.

Structure

The reduplicated measure word should precede the predicate of the sentence, often a verb phrase or an adjective.

Subj + MW + MW + Predicate

By far, the most commonly reduplicated measure words are 个个 (meaning "every one" of something) and 天天 (meaning "every day"). For less common measure words, the meaning is still the same: "every" of something (for which the measure word applies).

Examples

  • 个 个.
  • 个 个.
  • 天 天.
  • 天 天.
  • 家 家.
  • 家 家.
  • 件 件.
  • 本 本.
  • 条 条.
  • 只 只.

Sources and further reading

Books