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HSK 2.0 Level 6+ HSK 3.0 Level 6+ 7 min read

Manner Adverbs 不禁, 赶忙, 特地, 特意, 偷偷

Describe how someone acts: unable to help it (不禁), in a hurry (赶忙), on purpose for someone (特地, 特意) or in secret (偷偷).

Pattern

subject + 不禁 / 赶忙 / 特地 / 特意 / 偷偷 + verb

All five sit right before the verb; 不禁 and 赶忙 tell what happened, never give orders.

看到老人上车，他赶忙站起来让座。

When to use Manner Adverbs 不禁, 赶忙, 特地, 特意, 偷偷

These five adverbs go after the subject and right before the verb, and say how or why an action happens. 不禁 is an involuntary reaction (“couldn’t help…”), 赶忙 is a quick reaction to something that just happened, 特地 and 特意 mean “specially, on purpose for this”, and 偷偷 means “secretly”. 不禁 and 赶忙 are used to tell what someone did, not to give orders.

看到这张老照片，我不禁笑了起来。

Looking at this old photo, I couldn’t help laughing.

听说我病了，她特地来看我。

When she heard I was sick, she came over specially to see me.

弟弟偷偷吃了一块蛋糕。

My little brother secretly ate a piece of cake.

这是我特意为你做的菜。

This is a dish I made especially for you.

Common traps

  • In a request use 赶紧: 你赶紧去吧, not 你赶忙去吧; 赶忙 only tells what someone already did.
  • 不禁 must be followed by a verb: 我实在忍不住了 is fine, but 我实在不禁了 is wrong.
  • To thank someone, say 他特意来帮我, not 他故意来帮我: 故意 suggests a bad intention.

Targeted drill

Practice this exact pattern before moving on.

这不是意外，他是 把杯子打破的

This was no accident; he broke the cup deliberately
Fill in the missing piece, then press Enter

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