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HSK 2.0 Level 2+ HSK 3.0 Level 2+ 6 min read

Doubled Verbs: 看看, 看一看, 看了看, 休息休息

Double a verb (看看, 想一想, 休息休息) to make an action sound quick and relaxed, and use 看了看 for a quick action that already happened.

Pattern

AA (看看); A一A (看一看); A了A (看了看); ABAB (休息休息)

Doubling a verb makes the action short and casual, “have a quick look” instead of “look”.

我想一想。

When to use Doubled Verbs: 看看, 看一看, 看了看, 休息休息

Repeat an action verb to make the action short, light or casual: 看 “look” becomes 看看 “have a quick look”. One-syllable verbs double as AA (看看, with the second syllable in a light tone) or A一A (看一看), which mean the same. Two-syllable verbs repeat as a whole word, ABAB: 休息休息, 介绍介绍. The doubled verb goes where the verb normally goes, and an object can follow: 看看书.

你看看这个。

Take a look at this.

周末我想在家休息休息。

This weekend I want to rest a bit at home.

你给我们介绍介绍你的家吧。

Tell us a little about your family.

我们出去走走吧。

Let’s go out for a little walk.

Common traps

  • Say 休息休息, not 休休息息: to mean “do it a bit”, a two-syllable verb repeats as ABAB; AABB is mainly for adjectives (高高兴兴).
  • Say 他看了看我, not 他看看了我: in A了A, 了 goes between the two verbs.
  • Don’t double a verb for an action in progress: say 我在看书, not 我在看看书.

Targeted drill

Practice this exact pattern before moving on.

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