动词重叠 dòngcí chóngdié

动词重叠（dòngcí chóngdié）means “Reduplicating a verb makes the action brief, casual, or tentative and softens the tone.”. A monosyllabic verb reduplicates as AA (看看) or A一A (看一看); a disyllabic verb as ABAB (休息休息). Formation: V+V / V一V / ABAB

Reduplicating a verb makes the action brief, casual, or tentative and softens the tone.

HSK2

Formation

V+V / V一V / ABAB

Explanation

A monosyllabic verb reduplicates as AA (看看) or A一A (看一看); a disyllabic verb as ABAB (休息休息). The reduplicated form suggests doing something a little, giving it a try, or making a request sound gentler. The second element is usually pronounced in the neutral tone.

Examples

你看看这本书。
nǐ kànkan zhè běn shū.
Take a look at this book.
我们休息休息吧。
wǒmen xiūxi xiūxi ba.
Let's take a little rest.

Note

The reduplicated syllable takes the neutral tone (kànkan, not kànkàn).

FAQ

动词重叠 — what does it mean and how is it used?

Reduplicating a verb makes the action brief, casual, or tentative and softens the tone.. A monosyllabic verb reduplicates as AA (看看) or A一A (看一看); a disyllabic verb as ABAB (休息休息). The reduplicated form suggests doing something a little, giving it a try, or making a request sound gentler. The second element is usually pronounced in the neutral tone.

动词重叠 — how do you form it?

V+V / V一V / ABAB

动词重叠 — any usage notes?

The reduplicated syllable takes the neutral tone (kànkan, not kànkàn).

Learn in the app →