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HSK 3

动宾式离合词：帮忙、点头、放假、干杯、见面、结婚、看病、睡觉、洗澡、理发、说话

dòng bīn shì lí hé cí ： bāng máng 、 diǎn tóu 、 fàng jiǎ 、 gān bēi 、 jiàn miàn 、 jié hūn 、 kàn bìng 、 shuì jiào 、 xǐ zǎo 、 lǐ fā 、 shuō huà

Verb-object separable words (离合词)

Explanation

Separable verbs (离合词 líhécí) are a special type of word in Chinese: they are themselves made up of a verb part combined with an object part (object: the target of the action, e.g. "book" in "buy a book"), for example 帮忙 (bāngmáng, to help) = 帮 (to help) + 忙 (busy matter). Because the object is already built in, such a word can be used as a single word but can also be SPLIT APART to insert other elements in the middle.

Structure

[verb part] + (element inserted in the middle: 了/一下儿/quantity...) + [object part]. For example 见面 (jiànmiàn, to meet) splits into 见过一次面 (met once); 帮忙 splits into 帮我的忙 (do a favor for me).

When to use

when you need to add the particle 了/过, a quantity, or specify WHOM you help/meet, you must split the word and insert the element in the middle, rather than placing it after the whole unit.

Common mistakes

Vietnamese learners often treat it like an ordinary verb and add an object right after, wrongly writing "见面你", "帮忙我". You must say 见你的面 / 帮你的忙 (inserting in the middle), or 跟你见面 / 给你帮忙.

Examples

他经常帮我的忙。
tājīngchángbāngwǒdemáng。

He often helps me.

他点了一下儿头，表示同意。
tādiǎnleyíxiàrtóu，biǎoshìtóngyì。

He nodded once to show agreement.

我想放了假就去旅行。
wǒxiǎngfànglejiàjiùqùlǚxíng。

I plan to go traveling once the holiday starts.

来，我们一起干一杯。
lái，wǒmenyìqǐgānyìbēi。

Come on, let's have a toast together.

来中国以后，我们只见过一次面。
láizhōngguóyǐhòu，wǒmenzhǐjiànguòyícìmiàn。

Since coming to China, we have only met once.

结了婚以后，她就不工作了。
jiélehūnyǐhòu，tājiùbùgōngzuòle。

After getting married, she stopped working.

病人看完病就去取药了。
bìngrénkànwánbìngjiùqùqǔyàole。

The patient went to pick up the medicine after finishing the consultation.

Practice

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The grammar point “动宾式离合词：帮忙、点头、放假、干杯、见面、结婚、看病、睡觉、洗澡、理发、说话” (Verb-object separable words (离合词)) is one of the key structures at HSK 3. To use it fluently, you need to understand the contexts where it's used and practice regularly.

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