Difference between revisions of "Reduplication of verbs"

Revision as of 22:57, 24 November 2013

Level

A2 / HSK2 and HSK3
Level

A2
Level

HSK2, HSK3
Similar to
- Softening speech with "ba" (A2)
- Verbing briefly with "yixia" (A2)
- Reduplication of adjectives (B1)
- Reduplication of measure words (B1)
- Repeated actions in the past with "you" (B2)
Similar to
- Softening speech with "ba" (HSK1)
- Reduplication of measure words (HSK2)
- Verbing briefly with "yixia" (HSK2)
- Reduplication of adjectives (HSK3)
- Repeated actions in the past with "you" (HSK5)
Used for

Expressing duration, Decreasing formality
Keywords

一

One of the fun things about Chinese is that 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".

Structure

In Chinese, verbs can be reduplicated to indicate that they happen briefly or "a little bit".

Subject + Verb + Verb

Examples

你看看。(You) Take a little look.
我试试。I'll give it a little try.
你听听。(You) Listen for a bit.
你说说你的看法。Talk a little bit about your opinion.
周末的时候跟朋友吃吃饭，很好。During the weekend, eat a little bit with friends, it's awesome.
没事的时候我喜欢写写东西。When I have nothing to do, I like to write a little bit.
洗洗你的臭袜子吧！Wash your stinky socks a bit!
不要生气了，笑笑！You don't need to get mad, laugh a little!
快点去问问厕所在哪里。Hurry and go ask a while where the bathroom is.
我想出去走走。I want to go out and walk for a bit.

Sources and further reading

Books

New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 18) →buy
Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 85) →buy
Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 227-8) →buy
Contemporary Chinese 1 (当代中文1) (pp. 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

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	One of the fun things about Chinese is that 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".		One of the fun things about Chinese is that 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".