Tomyo
ruen

How to reduplicate adjectives in Chinese (AA / AABB)

AA / AABB

AA — reduplicating adjectives

HSK 3Adjectives

Rule structure

Repeating an adjective makes a description more vivid and often softens the degree of the quality. It can sound more natural, conversational, or descriptive than a plain adjective.

Examples

她有一双大大的眼睛。

Tā yǒu yī shuāng dàdà de yǎnjīng.

She has big, round eyes.

这条小小的狗很可爱。

Zhè tiáo xiǎoxiǎode gǒu hěn kě'ài.

This small, tiny dog is very cute.

他有一只小小的狗。

Tā yǒu yīzhī xiǎoxiǎode gǒu.

He has a tiny, little dog.

Practice

Build the sentence

Drag the characters to put them in the correct order

Characters

Words from this rule

她

tā

She

有

yǒu

To have

一

yī

One, 1

双

shuāng

Pair

大

dà

Big, large, old (sibling)

的

de

Possessive particle; modifier particle

眼睛

yǎnjing

Eye(s)

这

zhè

This

条

tiáo

Measure word for long objects

小

xiǎo

Small, little, young

狗

gǒu

Dog

很

hěn

Very

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “reduplicating adjectives” in Chinese with AA?

Use the structure: AA / AABB. For example: 她有一双大大的眼睛。 — “She has big, round eyes”.

What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?

她有一双大大的眼睛。 — “She has big, round eyes”.

Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?

This grammar rule is part of HSK 3.

Tomyo

Learn Chinese grammar with smart reviews

Grammar explanations, exercises and spaced repetition — all in one app.

Download the app

More HSK 3 grammar rules

地 — turning adjectives into adverbs

Adj. + 地 (de) + Verb

极了 — extremely, very

Adj. + 极了 (jí le)

一边 — doing two things at once

一边 (yìbiān) + Verb 1, 一边 (yìbiān) + Verb 2

如果…就 — if… then…

如果 (rúguǒ)……，就 (jiù)……

万 — big numbers

Number + 万 (wàn) / 亿 (yì)

想 — as one likes

想 (xiǎng) + Verb Phrase with Question Word + 就 (jiù) + Same Verb Phrase

一 — not even one

一 (yī) + MW + 也 (yě)/都 (dōu) + 没 (méi)/不 (bù) + Verb

刚才 — just now

刚才 (gāngcái) + Verb