Phrases with the structure 东A西B and 左A右B
东 means "east" and 西 means "west", whereas 左 means "left" and 右 means "right". However, in phrases with the structure 东A西B and 左A右B, they have other meanings.
In the structure , we replace "A" and "B" with one-syllable words that have similar meanings. They denote the repetition of an action.
Pay attention
These morphemes often cannot be used independently.
Phrases with the structure 东A西B are set expressions that need to be memorized. Here are some examples of these set expressions:
Examples
那个女孩站在路口,东张西望,看起来迷路的样子
That girl looked lost. She stood on the street corner and looked around
nà ge nǚhái zhàn zài lùkǒu, dōng zhāng xī wàng, kànqǐlai mílù de yàngzi
Phrases with the structure are used in the same way as phrases with the 东A西B structure. They are set expressions that need to be memorized.
Here are some examples of these set expressions:
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