HSK 2 · VERSION 2.0#45

Reduplication of Verbs

动词重叠

dòngcí chóngdié

How it works

Verb reduplication often makes the tone lighter and means “do something a little” or “do something briefly.”

Common forms AA A 一 A

你看看这个。

Nǐ kànkan zhège.

Take a look at this.

我想问一问老师。

Wǒ xiǎng wèn yí wèn lǎoshī.

I want to ask the teacher something.

我们休息休息吧。

Wǒmen xiūxixiūxi ba.

Let’s rest a bit.

This pattern is very common in spoken Chinese.