Duplicated Adjectives in Chinese

Q: What are some examples of Chinese duplicated adjectives?

Examples with one-syllable adjectives (AA) 小猫的尾巴长长的。 xiǎo māo de wěi bā zhǎng zhǎng de Kittens have long tails. 公交车行驶得慢慢的。 gōng jiāo chē háng shǐ dé màn màn de The bus moved slowly. Examples with two-syllable adjectives (AABB) 高兴➡️高高兴兴 gāo xìng ➡️gāo gāo xìng xìng happy 简单➡️简简单单 jiǎn dān ➡️jiǎn jiǎn dān dān simple Examples with duplicated adjectives used as adverbs (AABB) 她打扮得漂漂亮亮地出门了。 tā dǎ bàn dé piāo piāo liàng liàng dì chū mén le She went out dressed beautifully. 她高高兴兴地唱着歌。 tā gāo gāo xìng xìng dì chàng zhe gē She sang happily. Examples with duplicated adjectives used as predicates (ABAB) 我到外面走走，精神精神。 wǒ dào wài miàn zǒu zǒu ，jīng shén jīng shén I went outside to refresh myself. 放假了，你可以放松放松。 fàng jiǎ le ，nǐ kě yǐ fàng sōng fàng sōng You can relax and unwind in the vacation.

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Home HSK 3 Duplicated adjectives in Chinese

Duplicated adjectives, also called “Chinese reduplication of adjectives” it is one of the most common peculiarities of Chinese grammar.

Reduplication of particular words can enhance the descriptive feeling of an adjective and soften the tone.

ONE SYLLABLE ADJECTIVES (AA)

It’s very simple to double the one-syllable adjectives because you simply need to repeat the word. Therefore, the basic structure should be:

PATTERN

Adjective + Adjective + 的 (+ Noun)

OR in most Chinese textbooks, this is known as the “AA” pattern. We’ll be using this form more extensively below:

PATTERN

A A + 的 (+ Noun)

In this way, you can accentuate the meaning of the sentence.

^{xiǎo māo de wěi bā cháng cháng de}

小猫的尾巴长长的。

_{Kittens have long tails}

^{tā de liǎn dàn hóng hóng de}

她的脸蛋红红的。

_{Her cheeks are red}

View More Phrases

chinese	pinyin	english
他的身材胖胖的。	tā de shēn cái pàng pàng de	He is fat
雨后的街道湿湿的。	yǔ hòu de jiē dào shī shī de	The streets are wet after the rain
公交车行驶得慢慢的。	gōng jiāo chē xíng shǐ dé màn màn de	The bus moved slowly
结冰了的路面滑滑的。	jié bīng le de lù miàn huá huá de	The icy road was slippery
他的眼睛大大的。	tā de yǎn jīng dà dà de	His eyes are big

TWO SYLLABLE ADJECTIVES (AABB)

When it comes to two-syllable adjectives, you need to repeat each character, also known as the “AABB” pattern.

For instance, instead of saying “漂亮（AB pattern), you can say “漂漂亮亮（AABB pattern)”.

PATTERN

A A B B + 的 (+ Noun)

CHINESE ADJECTIVE	DUPLICATED ADJECTIVE	PINYIN	DUPLICATED PINYIN	ENGLISH
认真	认认真真	rèn zhēn	rèn rèn zhēn zhēn	serious
安静	安安静静	ān jìng	ān ān jìng jìng	quiet
平安	平平安安	píng ān	píng píng ān ān	safe

View More Phrases

Adjective	duplicated adjective	pinyin	duplicated pinyin	english
高兴	高高兴兴	gāo xìng	gāo gāo xìng xìng	happy
健康	健健康康	jiàn kāng	jiàn jiàn kāng kāng	healthy
清楚	清清楚楚	qīng chǔ	qīng qīng chǔ chǔ	clear
热闹	热热闹闹	rè nào	rè rè nào nào	lively
神秘	神神秘秘	shén mì	shén shén mì mì	mysterious
空荡	空空荡荡	kōng dàng	kōng kōng dàng dàng	empty
简单	简简单单	jiǎn dān	jiǎn jiǎn dān dān	simple

Unlike one-syllable adjectives, not all two-syllable adjectives can be duplicated, and there’re no grammar rule behind it.

It’s just a matter of habit in oral Chinese.

Here are some typical examples:

潮湿 ➡️ 潮潮湿湿 ❌
cháo shī ➡️ cháo cháo shī shī
Damp

难过 ➡️ 难难过过 ❌
nán guò ➡️ nán nán guò guò
Sad

精彩 ➡️ 精精彩彩❌
jīng cǎi ➡️ jīng jīng cǎi cǎi
Wonderful

Paying attention to this in your daily conversation will improve your communication skills! If you are unsure, the best way is to simply ask a Chinese native speaker.

TOP TIP | Don’t ever be afraid to make mistakes. If you are unsure just try and slip the AABB method in conversation. If it’s wrong your friends will tell you and it’s a mistake you will likely not make again. To get fluent you have to make mistakes along the way, and laugh about them! Language hiccups often make the best stories years down the line.

DUPLICATED ADJECTIVES USED AS ADVERBS

Although reduplicated adjectives (AABB) mostly remain adjectives, sometimes they are used as adverbs in sentences.

PATTERN

A A B B + 地 + Verb

^{wǒ zǐ zǐ xì xì de sī kǎo le zhè gè wèn tí}

我仔仔细细地思考了这个问题。

_{I thought about this question carefully.}

View More Phrases

CHINESE	PINYIN	ENGLISH
她打扮得漂漂亮亮地出门了。	tā dǎ bàn dé piāo piāo liàng liàng de chū mén le	She went out dressed beautifully.
我舒舒服服地躺在沙发上。	wǒ shū shū fú fú de tǎng zài shā fā shàng	I lay comfortably on the sofa.
我迷迷糊糊地去上班了。	wǒ mí mí hū hū de qù shàng bān le	I went to work in a daze.
她高高兴兴地唱着歌。	tā gāo gāo xìng xìng de chàng zhe gē	She sang happily.

DUPLICATED ADJECTIVES USED AS PREDICATES (ABAB)

The last case is when duplicated adjectives are used as verbs, which creates the ABAB form. The corresponding structure is:

PATTERN

Subject + ABAB

NOTE – There is no need to add a verb in the sentence since the duplicated adjective is already used as a verb. Also, no “的” is needed after the adjective because “的” should be used to qualify nouns.

Now let’s see more examples:

CHINESE	PINYIN	ENGLISH
我到外面走走，精神精神。	wǒ dào wài miàn zǒu zǒu ，jīng shén jīng shén	I went outside to refresh myself.
你可以喝杯可乐，凉快凉快。	nǐ kě yǐ hē bēi kě lè ，liáng kuài liáng kuài	You can have a Coke and cool off.
放假了，你可以放松放松。	fàng jiǎ le ，nǐ kě yǐ fàng sōng fàng sōng	You can relax and unwind during the vacation.

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FAQs

What are some examples of Chinese duplicated adjectives?

Examples with one-syllable adjectives (AA)

小猫的尾巴长长的。

xiǎo māo de wěi bā zhǎng zhǎng de
Kittens have long tails.

公交车行驶得慢慢的。
gōng jiāo chē háng shǐ dé màn màn de
The bus moved slowly.

Examples with two-syllable adjectives (AABB)

高兴➡️高高兴兴
gāo xìng ➡️gāo gāo xìng xìng
happy

简单➡️简简单单
jiǎn dān ➡️jiǎn jiǎn dān dān
simple

Examples with duplicated adjectives used as adverbs (AABB)

她打扮得漂漂亮亮地出门了。
tā dǎ bàn dé piāo piāo liàng liàng dì chū mén le
She went out dressed beautifully.

她高高兴兴地唱着歌。
tā gāo gāo xìng xìng dì chàng zhe gē
She sang happily.

Examples with duplicated adjectives used as predicates (ABAB)

我到外面走走，精神精神。
wǒ dào wài miàn zǒu zǒu ，jīng shén jīng shén
I went outside to refresh myself.

放假了，你可以放松放松。
fàng jiǎ le ，nǐ kě yǐ fàng sōng fàng sōng
You can relax and unwind in the vacation.

How to say “reduplication of adjectives” in Chinese?

There is no exact word to translate “Chinese reduplication of adjectives”, but it can be translated as “重叠词” (chóngdiécí)

What are the duplicated adjective structures?

There are 4 different structures :

The one-syllable adjectives (AA)

Adjective + Adjective + 的 (+ Noun)

It allows to accentuate the meaning of the sentence.

The two-syllable adjectives (AABB)

A A B B + 的 (+ Noun)

Attention: some two-syllable adjectives can’t be duplicated!

The duplicated adjectives used as adverbs (AABB)

A A B B + 地 + Verb

The duplicated adjectives used as predicates (ABAB)

Subject + A B A B

NOTE – There is no need to add a verb in the sentence since the duplicated adjective is already used as a verb.

What HSK level do Chinese duplicated adjectives correspond to?

The Chinese duplicated adjectives are considered an awkward and concept to understand, so you’ll study it at roughly intermediate level.

You usually learn it around the A2-B1/ HSK3 Level.

Where can I review previous Chinese grammar lessons?

You can review several Chinese grammar lessons on our Chinese Grammar Bank page.

How to sign up to a Chinese class with LTL?

If you want to take online individual classes with a professional tutor, you can choose a program and sign up here.

If you’d like a more flexible program where you can choose your study topic and study time yourself, check out Flexi Classes.

We even offer a 7-day free trial.

Chinese Grammar Bank