Reduplication of verbs
Reduplication of verbs adds brevity, smoothness and ease of use to a sentence. Both one-syllable and two-syllable verbs can be doubled.
Reduplication of one-syllable verbs
One-syllable verbs are verbs that consist of one character.
They are doubled according to the AA pattern, which means you just have to repeat the verb twice.
Scheme
A
A
Pay attention
When one-syllable verbs are doubled, the second verb is read in a neutral tone:
试试 
看看
看看 If the verb is read in the 3rd tone, the first syllable changes its tone to the 2nd tone when it is doubled:
讲 — 讲讲
洗 — 洗洗
— 讲讲
洗 — 洗洗
Examples
太好吃，你尝尝吧！
How delicious, have a taste!
tài hǎo chī, nǐ chángchang ba
我要去和她谈谈这件事儿
I need to go and have a talk with her about this case
wǒ yào qù hé tā tántan zhè jiàn shìr
Pay attention
一下 cannot be added after doubled verbs.
cannot be added after doubled verbs.Verbs can also be doubled by adding a word 一 between them. The tones in this case change in the same way as described above.
between them. The tones in this case change in the same way as described above.Scheme
A
一
A
Examples
可以试一试
Can be tried
kěyǐ shì yī shì
这是什么音乐，让我听一听
What song is this, let me listen
zhè shì shénme yīnyuè, ràng wǒ tīng yì tīng
In past tense the verb is doubled by means of the participle 了 .
.Scheme
A
了
A
Examples
我穿了穿这件衬衫，轮到你了
I've worn this shirt, it's your turn
wǒ chuān le chuān zhè jiàn chènshān, lún dào nǐ le
他尝了尝这杯咖啡
He has tasted this coffee
tā cháng le cháng zhè bēi kāfēi
Pay attention
The particle 了 is not used after a doubled pattern AA.
尝尝了 can not be used.
Verb reduplication is common in colloquial speech. It is not used in official texts.
Reduplication of two-syllable verbs
Two-syllable verbs are verbs that consist of two characters.
The verb can be doubled by the pattern ABAB
The word has to be said two times.
Scheme
AB
AB
When two-syllable verbs are doubled, the second characteris read in a neutral tone:
讨论 — 讨论讨论
— 讨论讨论
Pay attention
Two-syllable verbs are not doubled with 一 and 了.
Examples
让我介绍介绍自己
Let me introduce myself
ràng wǒ jièshao jièshao zìjǐ
我们认识认识吧
Let's get acquainted
wǒmen rènshi rènshi ba
The word can be doubled by the pattern AAB
This is how verb-object combinations are doubled.
Scheme
A
AB
Pay attention
In other words, only the verb part is doubled.
Examples
我们散散步吧
Let's go for a walk
wǒmen sàn sànbù ba
和朋友吃吃饭，聊聊天是挺放松的
It’s really nice to share dinner with friend and chat
hé péngyou chī chīfàn, liáo liáotiān shì tǐng fàngsōng de
In past tense the verb is doubled by means of the participle 了.
Scheme
A
了
AB
Examples
我们吃了顿大餐，跳了跳舞
We had some good food and dancing
wǒmen chī le dùn dà cān, tiào le tiàowǔ
When verbs cannot be doubled
Verbs that denote state, presence and direction are not doubled.
For example:
有
在
是
像
喜欢
去
在
是
像
喜欢
去 Verbs cannot be doubled in sentences where:
1) the events continue into present moment or happen regularly;
2) several actions are happening at the same time;
3) the suffixes 过 and 着 are used;
4) the verb has a complement;
5) the verb is in the negative form.
and 着 are used;
4) the verb has a complement;
5) the verb is in the negative form.