语法 · HSK 2–4
Separable verbs in Chinese (离合词): 见面, 帮忙, 睡觉, 结婚
Many two-character Chinese verbs are actually Verb + Object pairs (离合词 "separable verbs"): 见面 is 见 + 面 ("see face"), 帮忙 is 帮 + 忙 ("help with a busy matter"), 睡觉 is 睡 + 觉 ("sleep a sleep"). Because the second character is already an object, particles (了, 过, 着), durations and measure words go in the middle (见了面, 睡了八个小时的觉), and you can never put another object directly after the word.
句型Patterns
V + 了 / 过 / 着 + OAspect particles go in the middle: 见了面, 结过婚, 聊着天.V + Duration / Count + (的) + O睡了八个小时(的)觉, 见了一次面, 洗了个澡.跟 / 和 / 替 / 向 + Person + V-OA person goes before the verb with a preposition: 跟他见面, 向你道歉, 跟她结婚.V + V + O (reduplication)Only the first character repeats: 散散步, 聊聊天, 帮帮忙.
例句Examples
- 我昨天晚上只睡了五个小时的觉。wǒ zuó tiān wǎn shàng zhī shuì le wǔ gè xiǎo shí de jué.I only slept for five hours last night.
- 下课以后我们去公园散散步吧。xià kè yǐ hòu wǒ men qù gōng yuán sàn sàn bù ba.Let's go for a walk in the park after class.
- 他已经跟女朋友结婚三年了。tā yǐ jīng gēn nǚ péng you jié hūn sān nián le.He has been married to his girlfriend for three years.
- 我为昨天迟到的事向大家道歉。wǒ wèi zuó tiān chí dào de shì xiàng dà jiā dào qiàn.I apologise to everyone for being late yesterday.
常见错误Common mistakes
-
✗我要见面我的朋友。
✓我要跟我的朋友见面。
见面 already has an object (面); put the person before it with 跟 or 和.
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✗他今天请假了一天。
✓他今天请了一天假。
请假 is 请 + 假; 了 and the duration 一天 go between 请 and 假.
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✗她昨天生气我了。
✓她昨天生我的气了。
生气 splits to put the person in the middle: 生 + Person + 的 + 气.
重点词语Words in this guide
Common questions
How can I tell if a two-character verb is separable?
Check if the first character is an action and the second is a noun: 唱歌 (sing + song), 看病 (see + illness), 洗澡 (wash + bath), 跳舞 (jump + dance). If it can split in 见了一面 or 洗个澡, it is a separable verb.
Why can 担心 and 关心 take an object?
Both are ordinary verbs that take an object: 关心朋友, 担心你, 担心考试. 担心 can still split in casual speech (担什么心 "why worry"), which is why some textbooks list it as a separable verb.