The structure …着…着
The structure indicates that a situation occurred due to some action that was done or repeated over a period of time.
Scheme
verb
verb
situation
The adverb is placed after the second verb and indicates that the situation occurs immediately after the repeated action. The particle is placed at the end of a sentence to emphasize that the situation has changed.
Examples
说着说着哭起来
She burst into tears while talking
tā shuō zhe shuō zhe jiù kū qǐlái le
我躺在床上看电视,看着看着睡着
I fell asleep while watching TV in my bed
wǒ tǎng zài chuángshàng kàn diànshì, kàn zhe kàn zhe jiù shuìzháo le
我在北京的胡同里走着走着走丢
I got lost walking in the hutongs of Beijing
wǒ zài běijīng de hútòng lǐ zǒu zhe zǒu zhe jiù zǒu diū le
Open in app