When to Duplicate Words in Chinese

Verb AA

/ (kán kan / kán yi kán) ( : to look)

(N kán (yi) kan zhé f huá, tái piáoliang le!)

Look at this painting, it's so beautiful!

/ (Shu shuo/shu yi shu ) : to tell

(Q ng shu (yi) shuo n de xi ngf ba.)

Let me hear your thoughts.

/ (Wén wen/wén yi wén) ( : to ask )

(w bú zh dáo zhége zí z nme nián, k y b ng w wén (yi) wen l osh ma?)

I don't know how to pronounce this word. Can you ask the teacher for me?

/ (Shí shi/shí yi shí) ( : to try)

(Jír n y j ng m iy u q t bánf , w men shí (yi) shi zhége f ngf ba!)

Since we don't have any other options, let's give this method a try!

/ (T ng ting/t ng yi t ng) ( : to listen)

拿
(N t ng (yi) ting, wáimián shíbushí y u q guái de sh ngy n?)
Listen... isn't there a strange sound outside?

/ (Xi ng xiang/xi ng yi xi ng) ( to think)

Because of the tone rules, the rst character in is pronounced with a second tone, which
is the rising tone.

(Gu ny zhége wént , w zái xi ng (yi) xiang z nme ji ju ba.)

As for this problem, let me think about it some more.

/ (D ng deng/d ng yi d ng) ( to wait)

Because of the tone rules, the rst character in is pronounced with a second tone, which
is the rising tone.

(L osh h i m i xiáké, w men zái d ng (yi) deng ba.)

The teacher isn't nished with class yet, let's wait a bit longer.

/ (Zh o zhao/zh o yi zh o) ( to look for; to nd)

Because of the tone rules, the rst character in is pronounced with a second tone,
which is the rising tone.

(M ma, k y b ng w zh o (yi) zhao w de qi nb o ma?)

Mom, can you help me look for my wallet?

/ (Xi xie/xi yi xi ) ( to write)

Because of the tone rules, the rst character in is pronounced with a second tone, which
is the rising tone.

(D w n zhé pi n w nzh ng hóu, xi (yi) xie n de xi ngf ba.)

After reading this article, write down your thoughts.

(VVO) (Li o liao ti n) ( to chat)

(Zhége zh umó, w men yíq qú k f i t ng li o liao ti n ba.)

Let's go to a cafe this weekend and chat.

fi

fi
fi
fi
fi

fi

 (VVO) (Cháng chang g ) ( to sing)

(Y lí dá de sh hóu, k y cháng chang g , ráng zíj fángs ng x nq ng.)

When you're feeling stressed, you can sing a song to help yourself relax.

(VVO) (D da qi ) ( to play ball )

(Zhé zh umó w men yíq qú d da qi ba!)

Let's go play some ball this weekend!

Some two-character verbs can also be duplicated, for example, (to

introduce) can be duplicated into . The duplicate form would
usually be ABAB AB ABAB

Verb ABAB

(Jiésháo jiésháo) ( to introduce)

问
(G i dáji jiésháo jiésháo, zhé wéi shí w men de x n t ngshí, l xi nsheng.)
Allow me to introduce you all to our new colleague, Mr. Li.

(Liánx liánx ) ( to practice)

(B yáo hu x n, zh yáo zái du liánx liánx , n y díng huí jínbú de.)

Don't be discouraged, just keep practicing and you will improve.

(Zh nbéi zh nbéi) ( to prepare)

(Xiá zh u de huíyí y u n zh ch , n jíde xi n zh nbéi zh nbéi.)

You will be hosting the meeting next week, so don't forget to prepare..

 (Xi xi xi xi) ( to rest)

(N g ngzuó tái x nk le, x yáo h oh o xi xi xi xi.)

You've been working too hard. You should take a nice break.

(S k o s k o) ( to think)

(Zái zuó ju díng qi n, n y ngg i xi n z xí s k o s k o.)

Before making a decision, you should rst think through it carefully.

(Jíhuá jíhuá) ( to plan)

(Ráng w men yíq l i jíhuá jíhuá sh jiá ba.)

Let's do a little planning for our summer vacation.

(C nk o c nk o) ( to refer)

(Jíde y u kóng sh c nk o c nk o w g i n de ná fén z liáo.)

Don't forget to look at the information I sent you when you're free.

(D s o d s o) ( to clean)
⽠
(F ngji n zhéme luán, w men l i d s o d s o ba.)
This room is so messy, let's clean it up.

(Gu nch gu nch ) ( to observe)

(Zhége sh yán h i x yáo yíxi sh ji n, w men zái gu nch gu nch ba.)

We need more time on this experiment. Let's continue to observe.

(T olún t olún) ( to discuss)

fi

(Gu ny yáo xu nz n ge f ng'án, w men zái t olún t olún ba.)

Let's have further discussions before making a decision.

Adjectives AA

(Xi o xi o de) ( small)

(Zhé ji dián su r n xi o xi o de, dánshí l mián sh nme d u y u.)

This shop may be small, but they sell everything.

(Dádá de) ( big)

(Méimei n zhe dá dá de dáng o, k ix n j le.)

My little sister was so happy holding the big cake.

(Yu n yu n de) ( round)

(Méimei y u yí shu ng yu n yu n de dá y nj ng.)

My younger sister has (a pair of) big round eyes.

(Ti n ti n de) ( sweet)

(zhé x gu ti n ti n de, h n h o ch .)
This watermelon is really sweet. It's delicious.

(Ré ré de) ( hot)

(w x hu n zái d ngti n sh h ré ré de h ngch .)

I like to drink hot black tea during the winter.

 (Chóu chóu de) ( stinky; smelly)

(Wéish nme zhé jián y fu chóu chóu de?)

Why does this clothing stink?

(Mán mán de) ( slow)

⽠
(Wéile bú ch o x ng dídi, t mán mán de z uch f ngji n.)
In order not to wake up his younger brother, he walked slowly out of the room.

(L n l n de) ( lazy)

(Dídi jiárí x hu n l n l n de t ng zái chu ngsháng w n sh uj .)

On weekends, my younger brother likes to lie lazily in bed and play with his
phone.

(G o g o de) ( tall)

(Nál y u y dóng g o g o de dál u.)

There is a tall building over there.

(Liáng liáng de) ( bright)

楼
(Ji jie m i le y duí liáng liáng de rhu n.)
My (older) sister bought a pair of shiny earrings.

(Z ng z ng de) ( dirty)

(N de xi zi z nme z ng z ng de?)
Why are your shoes kind of dirty?

 In Chinese, one-character words for colors can be duplicated into the "AA " to
describe things, such as turning red into " ", blue into "
", and green into " " etc.

(L n l n de) ( blue)

(Ni o zái l n l n de ti nk ng zh ng f ixi ng.)

The bird is soaring through the blue sky.

Some two-character adjectives can also be duplicated, for instance, (happy)

can be duplicated into , the form is usually AABB AB
AABB

Adjectives AABB

( / ) (G o g o xíng xíng de) ( happy)

(W méimei m i le w njú hóu, bián g o g o xíng xíng de hu ji le.)

After buying a toy, my little sister happily went back home.

( / ) (Kuái kuái lé lé de) ( happy)

(W dídi h n x hu n xu x , m iti n d u kuái kuái lé lé de qú shángxu .)

My (younger) brother enjoys learning very much and goes to school happily
every day.

( / ) (G n g n jíng jíng de) ( clean)

(W m ma z ng shí b ji l d s o de g n g n jíng jíng de.)

My mother always cleans the house spotlessly.

 ( / ) (jián jián k ng k ng de) ( healthy)

(X n de yí ni n, zhú n men yí ji r n d u jián jián k ng k ng!)

Wishing you and your family good health in the new year!

( / ) ( n n jíng jíng de) ( queit)

(T x hu n n n jíng jíng de zái ji l kánsh .)

She likes to read quietly at home.

( / ) (sh sh fu fu de) ( comfortable)

(W dídi zuí x hu n sh sh fu fu de t ng zái sh f sháng kán diánshí.)

My (little) brother loves to lie comfortably on the couch and watch TV.

( / ) (Piáo piáo liang liang de) ( pretty; beautiful)

(t chu nzhe y jián piáo piáo liang liang de q nzi.)

She is wearing a beautiful dress.

( / ) (m ma h h de) ( careless)

(T zhége r n zuóshí ch ngch ng m ma h h de, su y l ob n b tái xínrén t .)

He often does things carelessly, so his boss doesn't really trust him.

天天 ( / ) (c ng c ng m ng m ng de) (天 hurried)
天天
(T ch m n y hóu c i f xián wáng le dái qi nb o, y shí yóu c ng c ng m ng
m ng de p o hu ji qú.)
It wasn't until he left home that he realized he'd forgotten his wallet, so then he hurried back
home (to get it).

 ( / ) (ché ché d d de) ( thorough)

(J ngguó ná cí shíjián y hóu, t ché ché d d de f nx ng le zíj .)

After that incident, he thoroughly re ected on himself.

Nouns AA

(r n r n) ( people/ everyone)
拿
(Wéile ji nsh o ji ot ng yíwái, r n r n d u bíx z nsh u ji ot ng gu z .)
In order to reduce tra c accidents, everyone must follow tra c rules.

Every day (ti n ti n) ( day/ every day)

(T ti n ti n oyé, n nguái kán q l i z ng shí zhéme léi.)

He stays up late every night, no wonder he always looks so tired.

(ni n ni n) ( year/ every year)

(Zhú n ni n ni n y u y !)
May you have abundance every year!

(Ji ji ) ( home / every family)

(Ji ji y u b n n n nián de j ng.)

Every family has their own problems. (a common saying in Chinese)

(shí shí) ( matter / everything)

(X n de yí ni n, zhú n shí shí shúnlí!)

In the new year, I wish you all the best! ( everything goes smoothly)

ffi

fl

ffi

 Nouns AABB

(Ji ji hú hú) ( every family - more literary)

(X nni n qi nx , ji ji hú hú d u m ng zhe zh nbéi guóni n, rénáo j le.)

On New Year's Eve, every household is busy preparing for the Lunar New Year, so
it's very lively.

(Rí rí yé yé) ( day and night)

(T rí rí yé yé s nián ná zái yu nf ng g ngzuó de zhángf .)

Day and night, she misses her husband who works far away,

(shí shí dái dái) ( generation)

(T men ji shí shí dái dái d u shí sh ngr n.)

Their family have been businessmen from generation to generation.