Author: tiffany

OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 2 Grammar Point · HSK 2 多 duō ・ 好 hǎo ・ 最 zuì — Everyday Degree Adverbs 最最 zuì marks a superlative, 好好 hǎo is a casual, conversational “so,” and 多多 duō turns a sentence into an exclamation — “how…!” Unlike 很很 hěn or 非常非常 fēicháng, these three each…

OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 3 Grammar Point · HSK 3 挺 tǐng ・ 有些 yǒuxiē ・ 越 yuè ・ 極 jí — More Degree Adverbs Four more ways to shade a degree: 挺挺 tǐng is casual chat, 有些有些 yǒuxiē is a touch more formal, 越越 yuè tracks something changing, and 極极 jí pushes a…

OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 5 Grammar Point · HSK 5 可能補語可能补语 kěnéng bǔyǔ — Potential Complement 3 A different kind of “can’t” — V + 得得 dé / 不得不得 bùdé isn’t about ability at all. It’s about whether something is safe, wise, or allowed. Same character, different tone, different job. 得得 dé here is…

OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 2 Grammar Point · HSK 2 數量補語数量补语 shùliàng bǔyǔ — Quantity Complement 2 Two more jobs for the quantity complement: saying exactly how much more one thing is than another in a 比比 bǐ comparison, and saying how long an ongoing action lasted. This continues from 數量補語数量补语 shùliàng bǔyǔ Quantity…

OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 7-9 Grammar Point · HSK 7-9 方向補語方向补语 fāngxiàng bǔyǔ — Extension 2 Two more literal-ish senses of 下下 xià and 起起 qǐ, then a step further still — 起來起来 qǐlái for things gathering together or being sealed away, and sense verbs telling you what something really is. More extended senses…

OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 7-9 Grammar Point · HSK 7-9 方向補語方向补语 fāngxiàng bǔyǔ — Extension 1 Seven extended senses of 上上 shàng, plus 過过 guò crossing a point — physical direction words stretched into new, non-directional meanings. This pulls together the more advanced senses of the direction complements you’ve already met — starting with…