Lessons 19, 27, 30: Reduplicated verbs

How to reduplicate verbs to express a short time, trying something, or a light tone.

Hanyu textbook · Hanyu 2 · Lesson 19 · Hanyu 2 · Lesson 27 · Hanyu 2 · Lesson 30

你看看这本词典怎么样？

Nǐ kànkan zhè běn cídiǎn zěnmeyàng?

How about trying this dictionary?

Explanation

In Chinese, to express a short duration of an action, trying something out, or a light, casual meaning, we use a reduplicated verb: V + V. With this structure the tone is light, polite and casual, and it is mostly used in spoken Chinese.

The reduplicated form of a single-syllable verb is "AA" or "A 一 A" (试试 / 试一试, 听听 / 听一听, 看看 / 看一看), and of a two-syllable verb it is "ABAB" (预习预习, 复习复习); "一" cannot be inserted in the middle.

If the action expressed by the verb has already happened or been completed, the reduplicated form is "A + 了 + A" and "AB 了 AB" (试了试, 看了看, 复习了复习, 预习了预习).

Verbs that do not express actions, such as "有", "在", "是"..., cannot be reduplicated. Verbs expressing an action in progress also cannot be reduplicated (don't say: *我正在听听录音呢). Separable verbs such as 跳舞 are reduplicated as 跳跳舞.

Structure

1
AA / A 一 A
Single-syllable verbs: 试试 / 试一试; 听听 / 听一听; 看看 / 看一看. Express a short time, trying something, or a light tone.
- 你看看这本词典怎么样？
  Nǐ kànkan zhè běn cídiǎn zěnmeyàng?
  How about trying this dictionary?
- 你听听这个句子是什么意思？
  Nǐ tīngting zhège jùzi shì shénme yìsi?
  Listen to this sentence and see what it means.
- 我试一试，可以吗？
  Wǒ shì yi shì, kěyǐ ma?
  Let me try it, okay?
- 我可以看看这双鞋吗？
  Wǒ kěyǐ kànkan zhè shuāng xié ma?
  Can I take a look at these shoes?
- 试试 / 试一试
  shìshi / shì yi shì
  try it out
- 听听 / 听一听
  tīngting / tīng yi tīng
  have a listen
- 看看 / 看一看
  kànkan / kàn yi kàn
  have a look
2
ABAB
For two-syllable verbs, "一" cannot be inserted in the middle.
- 预习预习
  yùxí yùxí
  go over the new lesson a bit
- 复习复习
  fùxí fùxí
  review a bit
3
A 了 A / AB 了 AB
The action has already happened or been completed.
- 试试 → 试了试
  shìshi → shì le shì
  tried it (past)
- 看看 → 看了看
  kànkan → kàn le kàn
  had a look (past)
- 复习 → 复习了复习
  fùxí → fùxí le fùxí
  reviewed a bit (past)
- 预习 → 预习了预习
  yùxí → yùxí le yùxí
  went over the new lesson (past)
4
AAB (động từ ly hợp)
Reduplicated form of the separable verb 跳舞.
- 跳舞 → 跳跳舞
  tiàowǔ → tiàotiao wǔ
  dance a bit
- 别难过了，我们一起去跳跳舞吧。
  Bié nánguò le, wǒmen yìqǐ qù tiàotiao wǔ ba.
  Don't be sad anymore; let's go dancing together.

Common mistakes

Don't say: *我正在听听录音呢 (verbs expressing an action in progress are not reduplicated); the verbs 有, 在, 是 are not reduplicated either.
~~我去商店买买一件衣服~~
我去商店买一件衣服
buying one specific piece of clothing; the verb is not reduplicated

Practice

27 questions in 3 sets. One at a time, checked instantly, with explanations.

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