Author: tiffany

OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 1 Grammar Point · HSK 1 再 zài — “Again” 再 zài goes right before a verb to say an action will happen one more time — a repeat that’s still ahead of you: a request, a plan, an instruction. 再 zài always sits before the verb (right after an…

OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 2 Grammar Point · HSK 2 快快/快要快要/就要就要/要要…了了 — “About To” Before you read this, make sure you already know 了了1, 了了2, and 了了3 — this article builds on 了了2, the “new situation” 了, by adding a word up front that says the new situation is on its way. Pair 快…

OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 1 Grammar Point · HSK 1 了了1 + 了了2 — Progress Up to Now 了1 and 了2 can appear in the same sentence together — one right after the verb, one at the very end — to say how far something has progressed as of right now, and that it’s…

OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 3 Grammar Point · HSK 3 離合詞离合词 líhécí — Separable Verbs 3 Two families this time. 動賓式动宾式 dòngbīnshì (Verb-Object) words split the same way you’ve already learned. 動補式动补式 dòngbǔshì (Verb-Complement) words split in a brand new way — to say “can” or “can’t.” Not all separable verbs are built the…

OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 2 Grammar Point · HSK 2 離合詞离合词 líhécí — Separable Verbs 2 In English, “help,” “swim,” “dance,” and “run” are single words with no moving parts. In Chinese, all four secretly hide a Verb + Object — and that mismatch is exactly what makes them so easy to get wrong….

OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 1 Grammar Point · HSK 1 離合詞离合词 líhécí — Separable Verbs 1 Words like 看病看病 kànbìng “see a doctor” and 上課上课 shàngkè “attend class” look like single verbs, but they’re secretly a Verb glued to an Object. This lesson covers the 8 most common ones, and the one rule you…