Separable verb

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.All of us can help you with this.
  • 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 跟 我 聊 他 的 工作 。 gēn yuángōng liáotiān.He doesn't like to talk about his work with me.
  • 他 不 喜欢 跟 我 聊天 他 的 工作 。Tā lízhí tā de gōngzuò..He doesn't like to talk about his work with me.
  • 我 打算 跟 她 分手 。Wǒ dǎsuàn gēn tā fēnshǒu.the prepositional phrase, literally "with her," comes before the verb
  • 我 打算 分手 她 。Wǒ dǎsuàn fēnshǒu tā.the prepositional phrase needs to come before the verb
  • 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.He will leave his job next month.

Put aspectual particles 了, 着, 过 after the verb

  • 见 了 面 jiàn le miàn
  • 结 了 婚 jié le hūn
  • 生 了 气 shēng le qì
  • 开 着 会 kāi zhe huì
  • 聊 着 天 liáo zhe tiān
  • 吃 着 饭 chī zhe fàn
  • 见 过 面 jiàn guò miàn
  • 结 过 婚 jié guò hūn
  • 生 过 气 shēng guò qì

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 一 次 面 jiàn yīcì miàn次 is a verbal measure word
  • 见 个 面 jiàn gè miàn个 is a general measure word for nouns
  • 吃 一 顿 饭 chī yī dùn fàn顿 is a measure word for meals
  • 吃 个 饭 chī gè fàn个 is a general measure word for nouns
  • 睡 个 好 觉shuì gè hǎo jiào个 is a general measure word for nouns
  • 离 过 两 次 婚 lí guò liǎng cì hūn次 is a verbal measure word

When reduplicating, only reduplicate the verb

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

  • 见见面 。 jiàn jiàn miàn.the proper reduplication repeats only the verb 见)
  • 见面见面 jiàn miàn jiàn miàn面 is the object; it should not be repeated.)
  • 见见面面 jiàn jiàn miàn miàn面 is the object; it should not be repeated.)
  • 吃吃饭 。chī chīfàn.the proper reduplication repeats only the verb 吃)
  • 吃饭吃饭 chī fàn chīfàn饭 is the object; it should not be repeated.)
  • 吃吃饭饭 chī chīfàn fàn饭 is the object; it should not be repeated.)
  • 散散步 。 sàn sàn bù.the proper reduplication repeats only the verb 散)
  • 散步散步sàn bù sàn bù 步 is the object; it should not be repeated.)
  • 散散步步 sàn sàn bù bù步 is the object; it should not be repeated.)

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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