Basic Grammar: all 87 lessons free
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看看 · 试试 · 学习学习 — Doubling the Verb
动词的重叠 AA／ABAB — 看看、试试、休息休息
看一下 = 看一看 = 看看; 休息一下 = 休息休息. Say the verb twice and it turns light and casual — the grammar of a relaxed weekend.
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Memory hook
A一下 = A一A = AA · AB一下 = ABAB
Say it twice
Three short exchanges, then the weekend. Hear how the doubled verb relaxes the whole sentence.
Tap any line to hear it
Twice makes it light说两遍就轻了
No pressure — just making it stick.
这首歌很好听，你____。
Zhè shǒugē hěn hǎotīng, nǐ ____.
This song's great — have a listen.
You are willing to try it. Which reply?
At the weekend I like to listen to some music at home and study a bit of Chinese.
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
我们____，一会儿再做吧。
Wǒmen ____, yíhuìr zài zuò ba.
Let's take a breather and carry on in a bit.
Your turn — say it
我们出去运动一下吧。
Let's go out and get some exercise.
周末我会____，然后打扫打扫房间。
Zhōumò wǒhuì ____, ránhòu dǎsǎo dǎsǎo fángjiān.
At the weekend I'll do a bit of reading, then tidy the room a little.
Double the right verb for each line.
Tap a word to fill the next gap; tap a filled sentence to clear it. Every word is used once.
Word bank
0/5Weekend verbs, in pictures看图说周末
No pressure — just making it stick.
Four weekend things from the deck. Match each picture, then say the verb doubled.
Tap a picture, then choose its word. Picked wrong? Tap that picture and choose again. Match all the cards to finish.
Your turn — say it
真的吗？我看一下。
Really? Let me see.
Tonight I'm going to prep tomorrow's food a little.
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
Your turn — say it
周末我会睡睡觉，看看书。
At the weekend I'll sleep a bit and read a little.
This lesson's characters
Three from the weekend list: revising, practising, and getting ready.
to return; again (复习 to revise)
会two ideas joined
A foot 夂 turning back beneath a structure: to go back the way you came — to return, to repeat. 复习 is to study again, revision; 复杂 is complicated, folded over; 恢复 is to recover. 今天晚上我要复习复习 — go back over it, lightly, twice.
to practise, to study
象drawn from life
The traditional 習 is a pair of wings 羽 over a small body: a fledgling flapping again and again until it flies. The simplified 习 keeps one wing. Practice is repeated flapping — 学习 is to study, 复习 to go over it again, 习惯 a habit, the flap you no longer notice. 学习学习汉语 — a few more flaps.
accurate; to allow (准备 to prepare)
形meaning + sound
The old 準 was water 水 beside a falcon 隼: water is level, a falcon flies true — accurate, standard. 准 means exact (时间很准, right on time) and permitted (不准抽烟, no smoking). 准备 pairs it with 备, to equip: to get ready, precisely. 准备准备明天吃的东西 — get tomorrow lined up.
Take these with you
Everything worth taking away. Tap any line to hear it.
Words 生词
Characters 汉字
Before you go课后回顾
- Take the deck's list — 学习, 复习, 运动, 休息, 准备, 打扫 — and double every one aloud. Then say your real weekend with three of them.
- Swap the three shapes on one verb until they feel identical: 看一下 · 看一看 · 看看. They are.
- Catch the verb-object trap once: 睡睡觉, 看看书, 游游泳 — verb doubled, object single. Say the wrong one on purpose and hear how wrong it is.