One of the charming features of Chinese is reduplication
(repeating, or doubling up) of certain words and characters,
including adjectives! Reduplication makes the descriptive feeling
of the adjective stronger.
One-Syllable Adjectives
(AA)
If an adjective is only one syllable (one character), then
reduplicating it is a no-brainer. In most Chinese textbooks and
grammar books, this is known as the "AA" pattern.
Structure
Another way of putting that (and we'll be using this form more
extensively below) is:
Note that this pattern is also identical to single-syllable
reduplication of verbs.
Examples
- 你 的 脸 红 红 的 。Nǐ de liǎn hóng
hóng de.Your face is
red.
- 宝宝 的 眼睛 大 大 的 。Bǎobao de yǎnjing
dà dà de.The baby's eyes are
big.
- 今晚 的 月亮 圆 圆 的 。The moon is round
tonight.
- 她 爸爸 高 高 胖 胖 的 。Tā bàba gāo
gāo pàng pàng de.Her father is tall
and fat.
- 我 妹妹 一直 瘦 瘦 小 小 的 。Wǒ mèimei
yīzhí shòu shòu xiǎo xiǎo de.My
little sister are thin and small all the time.
Two-Syllable Adjectives
(AABB)
If the adjective has more than one character, then you should
repeat each character individually (rather than the whole word).
This is known as the "AABB" pattern.
Structure
In the structure below, the original two-character adjective
(such as 高兴, 漂亮) is "AB," where the first character of the
adjective is represented by "A," and the second by "B."
Examples
Not all two-syllable adjectives are used in AABB form, but here
are some common examples of AB adjectives represented in AABB
form.
- 高兴 → 高高兴兴 gāoxìng ￫ gāo gāo xìng
xìnghappy
- 开心 → 开开心心 kāixīn ￫ kāi kāi xīn
xīnhappy
- 热闹 → 热热闹闹 rènao ￫ rè rè nāo
nāoexciting
- 干净 → 干干净净 gānjìng ￫ gān gān jìng
jìngclean
- 漂亮 → 漂漂亮亮 piàoliang ￫ piào piào liāng
liāngpretty
- 舒服 → 舒舒服服 shūfu ￫ shū shū fū
fūcomfortable
- 安静 → 安安静静 ānjìng ￫ ān ān jìng
jìngpeaceful
- 健康 → 健健康康 jiànkāng ￫ jiàn jiàn kāng
kānghealthy
- 辛苦 → 辛辛苦苦 xīnkǔ ￫ xīn xīn kǔ
kǔhard
- 清楚 → 清清楚楚 qīngchu ￫ qīng qīng chǔ
chǔclear
- 大方 → 大大方方 dàfāng ￫ dà da fāng
fānggenerous
Not all adjectives can take AABB form. Here are some examples of
common adjectives that don't work in AABB form.
- 便宜 → 便便宜宜 piányi ￫
piánpiányíyícheap
- 好吃 → 好好吃吃 hǎochī ￫
hǎo hǎo chī chī tasty
- 麻烦 → 麻麻烦烦 máfan ￫
má má fán fán bothersome
- 友好 → 友友好好 yǒuhǎo ￫
yǒu yǒu hǎo hǎo friendly
- 小气 → 小小气气xiǎoqì ￫
xiǎo xiǎo qì qì stingy
Using
Reduplicated Adjectives as Adverbs (AABB)
When adjectives are used as adverbs to modify verbs, you can reduplicate the
adjective using the AABB pattern.
Structure
Examples
- 过年 的 时候 ，我们 全 家人 都 聚 在 一起 ，热 热 闹 闹 地
吃 年夜饭 。Guònián de shíhou, wǒmen quán jiārén
dōu jù zài yīqǐ, rè rè nāo nāo de chī
niányè fàn.At Chinese New Year, our
whole family gathers together and joyously shares a New Year's Eve
meal.
- 听到 这 个 消息，她 高高兴兴 地 走 了。Tīngdào zhège xiāoxī, tā gāo gāo xìng xìng
de zǒu le.Upon hearing
the news, she happily left.
- 我 清清楚楚 地 看到 他 跟 一 个 胖胖的 男人 上 车
了。Wǒ qīng qīng chǔ chǔ
de kàndào tā gēn yīgè pàng pàng de nánrén shàng
chēle.I clearly saw him get in the car
with a fat man.
- 我 现在 真 想 舒舒服服 地 躺 在 沙发 上 看
电视。Wǒ xiànzài zhēn xiǎng shū shū fú
fú de tǎng zài shāfā shàng kàn
diànshì.Right now I'd really like to
comfortably lie on the couch and watch TV.
- 我 辛辛苦苦 地 做 了 两 个 小时 的 饭，你们 都 不
吃？辛辛苦苦 is difficult to translate into English
directly!Wǒ xīn xīn kǔ kǔ
de zuòle liǎng gè xiǎoshí de fàn, nǐmen dōu bù
chī?I labored over this meal for two
hours, and none of you guys are going to eat it?
Using
Reduplicated Adjectives as Predicates (ABAB)
If you use an adjective as a predicate, then you're basically using the
adjective like a verb, and you reduplicate it as you would a verb,
which means ABAB form. Using an adjective in this way is roughly
equivalent to using 一下 after the (non-reduplicated) adjective.
Structure for ABAB
To use a reduplicated adjective as a predicate, follow this
structure:
In the pattern above there's no verb, because when an adjective
serves as the predicate, it does the job of a verb. Notice also
that there's no 的 after the ABAB, because it's not acting as an
adjective.
Examples
- 妹妹 快 过 生日 了 ，我 打算 给 她 办 一 个 生日 派对 ，热闹 热闹 。Mèimei kuàiguò shēngrìle, wǒ dǎsuàn gěi tā bàn yīgè
shēngrì pàiduì, rènao rènao.My
little sister's birthday is coming and I'm going to throw her a
birthday party and have a blast.
- 来 ，喝 点 酒 ，高兴 高兴 。Lái, hē diǎn
jiǔ, gāoxìng gāoxìng.Come on,
have a little wine and enjoy yourself.
- 到 这里 来 凉快 凉快 。Dào zhèlǐ lái
liángkuai liángkuai.Come over
here and cool off.
- 我 想 去 做 个 按摩 ，放松 放松 。Wǒ xiǎng qù
zuò gè ànmó, fāngsōng fāngsōng.I'm going to go get a massage and unwind.
Structure for AB 一下
The above structure is essentially equivalent to this one:
Examples of AB 一下
- 妹妹 快 过 生日 了 ，我 打算 给 她 办 一 个 生日 派对 ，热闹 一下 。Mèimei kuàiguò shēngrìle, wǒ dǎsuàn gěi tā bàn yīgè
shēngrì pàiduì, rènao yīxià.My
little sister's birthday is coming and I'm going to throw her a
birthday party and have a blast.
- 来，喝 点 酒， 高兴 一下。Lái, hē diǎn jiǔ,
gāoxìng yīxià.Come on, have a
little wine and enjoy yourself.
- 到 这里 来 凉快 一下。Dào zhèlǐ lái
liángkuai yīxià.Come over here
and cool off.
- 我 想 去 做 个 按摩， 轻松 一下。Wǒ xiǎng qù
zuò gè ànmó, qīngsōng yīxià.I'm
going to go get a massage and unwind.
- 洗 个 澡 吧， 舒服 一下。Xǐ gè zǎo ba,
shūfu yīxià.Take a shower and
get comfortable.
Note: The "AABB" pattern for reduplication of
two-syllable adjectives contrasts with the "ABAB" pattern for
reduplication of two-syllable verbs.
Sources and further
reading
Books
Category:B1 grammar points Category:Adjectives