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Reduplication of verbs

一 yī

Verb
HSK 2

Structure

Subj. + Verb + Verb Verb + 一 + Verb

Definition

动词重叠是指将一个动词重复使用的一种语法现象，常见于口语中，表示动作的短暂、尝试、轻松或反复等意义。

Reduplication of verbs is a grammatical phenomenon in Chinese where a verb is repeated, often used in spoken language to indicate a brief, tentative, or casual action.

Usage

主要用于口语，常见形式有单音节动词的AA式（如“看看”“走走”）和双音节动词的ABAB式（如“讨论讨论”“研究研究”）。动词重叠后中间可插入“一”或“了”表示完成或尝试（如“看一看”“看了看”）。否定形式较少，用“没”或“不”。

Mainly used in spoken Chinese, common forms include AA for monosyllabic verbs (e.g., kànkan 'take a look', zǒuzou 'take a walk') and ABAB for disyllabic verbs (e.g., tǎolùn tǎolùn 'discuss a bit', yánjiū yánjiū 'study a bit'). Particles like 'yī' or 'le' can be inserted to indicate completion or attempt (e.g., kàn yī kàn, kàn le kàn). Negative forms are rare, using 'méi' or 'bù'.

Examples

  • 1 你等一下，我去看看。 (Wait a moment, I'll go take a look.)
  • 2 我们一起来讨论讨论这个问题。 (Let's discuss this problem together for a bit.)
  • 3 他听了听音乐，然后睡觉了。 (He listened to some music for a little while and then went to sleep.)
  • 4 你试试这件衣服。 (Try on this piece of clothing.)
  • 5 周末我们去公园走走。 (Let's take a walk in the park on the weekend.)
  • 6 他想了想，最后同意了。 (He thought about it for a moment and finally agreed.)
  • 7 我们可以研究研究这个方案。 (We can study this plan a bit.)

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