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Grammar Point · HSK 3

Verbal Measure Words 1 — 口口 kǒu, 回回 huí, 遍遍 biàn, 聲声 shēng

Unlike the measure words you’ve seen so far, these four don’t count nouns — they count actions. They go right after the verb to say how many bites, times, or sounds something involved.

The pattern is Verb + 了 + Number + Measure Word (+ Object). These are called verbal measure words because they measure the action itself, not a noun.

1 Quick Reference

A cheat sheet before diving into examples.

Word	Used For	Example Verbs
口口 kǒu	A mouthful — one bite or sip	eating, drinking
回回 huí	Times or occurrences (casual)	going somewhere, calling, explaining
遍遍 biàn	Times, start to finish	reading, watching, repeating
聲声 shēng	A single sound or cry	shouting, laughing, sighing

2 Usage

口口 kǒu — A Mouthful or Sip

他tā咬yǎo了le一口yìkǒu苹果píngguǒ

He took a bite of the apple.

我wǒ喝hē了le一口yìkǒu水shuǐ

I took a sip of water.

回回 huí — Times or Occurrences

我wǒ去过qùguò那家nà jiā餐厅cāntīng三回sānhuí了le

I’ve been to that restaurant three times.

这件事zhè jiàn shì他tā解释jiěshì了le好几回hǎo jǐ huí

He’s explained this matter several times.

遍遍 biàn — Times, Start to Finish

这篇zhè piān文章wénzhāng我wǒ看kàn了le三遍sānbiàn

I’ve read this article three times.

请qǐng你nǐ再zài说shuō一遍yíbiàn

Please say it one more time.

Good to Know

遍遍 biàn, 次次 cì, and 回回 huí all translate as “times,” but they’re not fully interchangeable. 次次 cì is the neutral, go-to choice for counting occurrences in general. 遍遍 biàn adds the sense of doing something completely, start to finish — reading a whole article, watching a whole movie. 回回 huí feels a bit more spoken and casual, and often overlaps with 次次 cì in everyday conversation.

聲声 shēng — A Single Sound or Cry

他tā叫jiào了le一声yìshēng，就jiù跑走pǎozǒu了le

He shouted once and ran away.

她tā笑xiào了le一声yìshēng，没有méiyǒu回答huídá

She laughed once and didn’t answer.

3 Practice Quiz

Fill in the blank with the correct measure word.

我wǒ可以kěyǐ吃chī一yì ＿＿＿吗ma？

Can I try a bite?

这部zhè bù电影diànyǐng我wǒ看kàn了le三sān ＿＿＿。

I’ve watched this movie three times.

他tā喝hē了le一yì ＿＿＿咖啡kāfēi。

He drank a mouthful of coffee.

我wǒ打dǎ了le好几hǎo jǐ ＿＿＿电话diànhuà都dōu没人méirén接jiē。

I’ve called him several times but no one answered.

请qǐng把bǎ这个zhège字zì读dú两liǎng ＿＿＿。

Please read this word twice.

宝宝bǎobao哭kū了le一yì ＿＿＿就jiù睡着shuìzháo了le。

The baby cried once and then fell asleep.

我们wǒmen去过qùguò日本Rìběn两liǎng ＿＿＿。

We’ve been to Japan twice.

先xiān咬yǎo一小yìxiǎo ＿＿＿。

Take a small bite first.

他tā嘆tàn了le一yì ＿＿＿。他tā叹tàn了le一yì ＿＿＿。

He sighed once.

这份zhè fèn合约héyuē我wǒ需要xūyào再读zài dú一yí ＿＿＿。

I need to read through this contract once more.

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Verbal Measure Words 1

Verbal Measure Words 1 — 口口 kǒu, 回回 huí, 遍遍 biàn, 聲声 shēng

1 Quick Reference