Learn about diminutives in Chinese
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: What is reduplication? |
| Dehua: And is it common in Chinese? |
| Michael: At ChineseClass101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: |
| Zhimin Zhao points out a cute kitten to her daughter, Weiwei Wang. She says, |
| "Come look at this white doggy!" |
| 赵 芝敏: 来看看这只白色的狗狗！ (Lái kànkan zhè zhī báisè de gǒu gou!) |
| Dialogue |
| 赵 芝敏: 来看看这只白色的狗狗！ (Lái kànkan zhè zhǐ báisè de gǒu gou!) |
| 王 薇薇: 好可爱！ (Hǎo kě'ài!) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| 赵 芝敏: 来看看这只白色的狗狗！ (Lái kànkan zhè zhǐ báisè de gǒu gou!) |
| Michael: "Come look at this white doggy!" |
| 王 薇薇: 好可爱！ (Hǎo kě'ài!) |
| Michael: "[It's] so cute!" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: Reduplication is a unique phenomenon in the Chinese language. We can repeat a word or a character to have a certain effect on our speaking. It’s possible to reduplicate a verb, a noun, and an adjective. In our dialogue, we have the reduplication of a verb and a noun. Let’s take a closer look. |
| Zhimin says to Weiwei... |
| Dehua: 来看看这只白色的狗狗！(Lái kànkan zhè zhī báisè de gǒu gou!) |
| Michael: The first phrase... |
| Dehua: 来看看 (lái kànkan) |
| Michael: means “come and have a look”. The verb “look”, |
| Dehua: 看 (kàn) |
| Michael: is duplicated— |
| Dehua: 看看 (kànkan) |
| Michael: The duplication of a verb implies that the speaker wants the listener to take a brief moment to do something. It helps the speaker to sound more polite, friendly, and less demanding. Here is another example. Imagine you have made some delicious soup and invite your friend to taste it. You may |
| Dehua: 尝我做的汤。(Cháng wǒ zuò de tāng.) |
| Michael: It means “Taste the soup I made.” The sentence is grammatically correct, but it sounds a bit like an order in which you command your friend to do what he’s told. Although it’s okay between close family and friends, you may want to soften your tone by saying... |
| Dehua: 尝尝我做的汤。(Chángchang wǒ zuò de tāng.) |
| Michael: By duplicating the verb, you are warmly inviting your friend to have a little taste of soup. |
| Michael: Now, let’s go back to our dialogue and have a look at the duplication of a noun. Zhimin says... |
| Dehua: 白色的狗狗 (báisè de gǒu gou) |
| Michael: which means “white dog.” In this phrase, the noun “dog” |
| Dehua: 狗 (gǒu) |
| Michael: is duplicated: |
| Dehua: 狗狗 (gǒu gou) |
| Michael: This is a cute way of saying “dog”, just as “doggy”, “puppy” is in English. The duplication of a noun makes it sound cuter. This pattern is often found in children’s language. Here is an example: |
| Dehua: 妈妈，我不要吃菜菜，我要吃肉肉。(Māma, wǒ búyào chī cài cai, wǒ yào chī ròu rou.) |
| Michael: This sentence means “Mommy, I don’t want to eat veggie, I want to eat meat.” |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review the sentences we’ve heard in this lesson. I’ll say the sentence in English, and then I want you to try and reply in Chinese. Dehua will then model the correct answer—listen to her carefully and repeat, with emphasis on your pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how to say "Come look at this white doggy?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Dehua: 来看看这只白色的狗狗！ (Lái kànkan zhè zhī báisè de gǒu gou!) |
| Michael: Did you get it right? Listen again and repeat. |
| Dehua: 来看看这只白色的狗狗！ (Lái kànkan zhè zhī báisè de gǒu gou!) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Dehua: 来看看这只白色的狗狗！ (Lái kànkan zhè zhī báisè de gǒu gou!) |
| Michael: Now for our next sentence. Do you remember how to say "[It's] so cute!" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Dehua: 好可爱！ (Hǎo kě'ài!) |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Dehua: 好可爱！ (Hǎo kě'ài!) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Dehua: 好可爱！ (Hǎo kě'ài!) |
| Cultural Expansion |
| Michael: Reduplication can also apply to adjectives. The purpose is to emphasize the description and usually implies a positive opinion. In our dialogue, the description of the dog is... |
| Dehua: 白色的狗狗 (báisè de gǒu gou) |
| Michael: If we want to emphasize that the color is white and pretty, we can say |
| Dehua: 白白的狗狗 (bái bái de gǒu gou) |
| Michael: It is quite common to reduplicate the color word to emphasize that it is a pleasant feature. Here is an example: |
| Dehua: 我喜欢蓝蓝的天和白白的云。(Wǒ xǐhuan lán lán de tiān hé bái bái de yún.) |
| Michael: This sentence means “I like the blue sky and the white clouds.” |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Dehua: 再见！ (zàijiàn!) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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