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HSK 2.0 Level 5+ HSK 3.0 Level 7–9+ 5 min read

你看你 and 真是的 for Gentle Complaints

Use 你看你 to gently scold someone for a slip, and 真是的 to say “Honestly!” when something annoys you.

Pattern

你看你，+ what the person did；（他／你也）真是的！

你看你 mixes complaint with care; 真是的 is a short “Honestly!” about something annoying.

你看你，又把钥匙忘在家里了。

When to use 你看你 and 真是的 for Gentle Complaints

你看你 is like “Look at you!” The speaker points out a small mistake or careless act of the listener, with a mix of complaint and care. What the person did follows, often with 又.

你看你，衣服都湿了，快换一件吧。

Look at you, your clothes are all wet. Go change.

你看你，来就来吧，还带什么礼物！

Oh, look at you! Just come, there’s no need to bring a gift!

真是的，又下雨了，今天的比赛只好取消。

Honestly! It’s raining again, so today’s match has to be canceled.

他也真是的，说好七点到，现在还没来。

Honestly, that guy! He said he’d be here at seven, and he still isn’t here.

Common traps

  • 你看你 is a gentle scolding; keep it for family and friends, not teachers or strangers.
  • Keep 的 in the stand-alone complaint (你也真是的！); 真是 + adjective (真是好) just means “really”.
  • 你看 alone just means “look”; it is the repeated 你 in 你看你 that makes it a complaint.

Targeted drill

Practice this exact pattern before moving on.

，来就来吧，还带什么礼物！

Oh, look at you! Just come, there’s no need to bring a gift!
Fill in the missing piece, then press Enter

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