Repeating Characters

[FinalFan18]

In written Mandarin, do they often repeat the same character to emphasize the meaning? For example, I've seen subtitles that say: 你试试 for 'you try'.

[sakigake]

As far i know, repeating a charachter could mean: 1)that the action is quick, in a short time. or 2) an attempt, a try. however, about the attempt my teacher said me that the verbs that have only 1 syllabe you must add 看 at the end, and the ones of more syllabes only repeat the verb.

example 去/ 去去看 知道/ 知道知道。

我去去你家。i go (a short time) to your house.

我可以试试看这双鞋字码？ can i try this pair of socks?

Anyway, it would be good if someone can point this too to confirm it well.

pd sorry if my english is not very good.

[HashiriKata]

Anyway, it would be good if someone can point this too to confirm it well.

Most of what you said seems ok to me, but I'm a bit not sure of your example:

我可以试试看这双鞋字码？ can i try this pair of socks?

I'd probably say it in the following ways:

我可以试试这双袜子吗？(If you want to try on the socks)

我可以看看这双袜子吗？(If you only want them to let you have a look)

Also, by "这双鞋字码?" do you mean "这双鞋子吗?"

[rlf1286]

It's definitely true that a lot of Chinese phrases repeat characters twice in a row:

一般般 yibanban and 马马虎虎 mamahuhu roughly equal "so so" / "not bad" / or "alright"

The Chinese also often repeat 好hao for emphasis, like in the saying 好好学习 天天向上, meaning that if you study hard you'll improve everyday.

[Lugubert]

How often do you hear a single 请坐 or 请进 for please sit down/please come in? A single 请进 might be displayed on a shop front door, but my understanding is that oral repetition (请坐, 请坐) is used to emphasize sincerity.

[renzhe]

It's a bit more complicated than just repeating characters.

Repeating verbs is not the same thing as repeating adverbs or adjectives.

[sakigake]

Also, by "这双鞋字码?" do you mean "这双鞋子吗?"

haha, yes, im sorry, i didn´t realize there was a wrong character there, i though the ime would put it correctly.

我可以试试看这双鞋字码？ can i try this pair of socks?

About this, my chinese book have that same example and explains that. then, in the grammatical explanation, it says you must add "看" 。 when i questioned my teacher about that, she explained me all as the same i put in the other post, so i don' t know.

this is what i have in the book:

-我要买一双蓝色的鞋子。

-这双好吗?

-我可以试试看吗？

-没有问题。

[HashiriKata]

haha, yes, im sorry, i didn´t realize there was a wrong character there

No problems, but remember, "鞋子" is "shoes", not "socks" (I already gave the word for "socks" in my earlier examples).

我可以试试看吗？

No problems either with or without 看 in this type of sentences, just like we'd say it in English: "Can I try it on (and see)?"

[sakigake]

No problems, but remember, "鞋子" is "shoes", not "socks"

my bad, i mistook it with wazi

Then, thank you for the corrections and explanation.

[Guest Pipas]

Quote:

No problems, but remember, "鞋子" is "shoes", not "socks"

my bad, i mistook it with wazi

Funny))) There's a mnemonic code made by Chinese learners of Russian: 袜子搁鞋里

- for the word "воскресенье" (sunday).

That's why I never mix these two up

Edited October 25, 2009 at 02:39 PM by Pipas