Intransitive verbs & 离合词???

[Hong Yang (洪洋)]

Hi

Once again, I'm looking to get hold a list... this time it's to do with verbs.

Thankfully most verbs in Chinese are transitive. However, since beginning to study the language I've already grappled with a few verbs that are treated slightly differently such as a) 见面 in which the object cannot be put after the verb and B) 睡觉 in which the adj or frequency is expressed by splitting the word (i.e. 离合词??), e.g. 睡一个好觉*

(*actually this splitting of the word also applies to 见面.)

I've also come across the word 离合词 to describe these?????

My questions are:

1. Are Chinese intransitive verbs & 离合词 one in the same thing? If not how do you distinguish them?

2. Can anyone post a comprehensive list of these types of irregular verbs as its not always clear when learning a new verb whether it is irregular or not.

3. How do you say transitive / intransitive verb in Chinese?

Any pointers are much appreciated as always.

Many thanks,

洪洋

[frankcupid]

见面 in chinese is not a single verb but a 短语动词(phrasal verb). 见=see 面=face so 见面 which can be called 动宾短语(verb+object phrase) means to see someone's face, e.g. 我和他见过面 is i've seen his face i.e i've met him. ~过 after a verb means to have done so we can say 见过面 but cannot say 见面过. 睡觉 is a verb+object phrase too, a/one, of course, is used before nouns. take a nap in english is similar to 睡一觉(you can NOT say 睡一个觉 but 睡一个好觉.

in modern chinese, we use phrases mostly in stead of verbs such as 睡觉(sleep)、走路(walk)、唱歌(sing)、跳舞(dance) but we treat them as verb. in old chinese before 1900's we used single word more often i.e. 眠、行、歌、舞 because two-syllable words sound better, i think. 喝水(drink water)、开车(drive a car)、骑马(ride a horse) etc. are 动词短语(verbal phrase) which means to do something.

transitive / intransitive verb is 及物/不及物动词 in chinese.

hope this is helpful

[skylee]

3. How do you say transitive / intransitive verb in Chinese?

transitive verb = 及物動詞 -> http://dict.cn/big5/search/?q=transitive+verb

intransitive verb = 不及物動詞 -> http://dict.cn/big5/search/?q=intransitive+verb

[Josh2007]

You should note from the Contemporary Chinese Dictionary which words are splittable

eg liuwanr is listed as 遛//弯儿 meaning, you can say 遛个弯儿 or something.

I have asked many Chinese questions about this. I remember asking how to make a split phrase out of 募捐 because the dictionary suggested this was mu//juan. I totally confused a friend of mine who insisted you could never split those up, but then I found on the Internet 募一下捐 and he wasn't too sure after that!!!