<p>Duplication of words is very common in Chinese. It doesn't have much grammatical meaning but it adds a little emphasis.</p>

<p>Sometimes, especially for Chinese spoken in Singapore (my native tongue), the order [verb][verb][particle] is used more often for better cohesion.</p>

<p>For example: 
让我想想一下吧! （Usually 让我想一想吧!）--> Please let me think for a moment.
你的伤这么严重，让我看看！(Usually 你的伤这么严重，让我看一看!) --> Your injury is very serious, let me see.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-14T17:01:17.490Z
2017-01-14T17:01:17.490Z
user16197
<p>I met with a structure of this type many times during last days, so I wonder:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>What is the meaning of "[verb] 一 [verb]"?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>For instance:</p>

<ul>
<li>想一想</li>
<li>看一看</li>
<li>等一等</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-14T09:56:14.067Z
search this site, find many relevant/pertinent answers
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-15T06:44:11.990Z
for previous discussions of this topic, search Q&A using "看一看＂and also see answer by user6065 (quotation from 外国人实用汉语语法) in
http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/10046/why-does-the-%E8%AF%B7-take-two-duplicate-words-on-its-verb-occasionally-e-g-%E8%AF%B7%E6%B4%97%E6%B4%97%E4%BD%A0%E7%9A%84%E8%A2%9C/10047#10047
user6065
<translation><grammar><sentence-structure>
Structure <verb> 一 <verb>
# Structure <verb> 一 <verb>

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-01-14)

I met with a structure of this type many times during last days, so I wonder:

> What is the meaning of "[verb] 一 [verb]"?

For instance:

* 想一想
* 看一看
* 等一等

**Tags:** translation, grammar, sentence-structure

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: search this site, find many relevant/pertinent answers  
> **username_1**: for previous discussions of this topic, search Q&A using "看一看＂and also see answer by username_1 (quotation from 外国人实用汉语语法) in http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/10046/why-does-the-%E8%AF%B7-take-two-duplicate-words-on-its-verb-occasionally-e-g-%E8%AF%B7%E6%B4%97%E6%B4%97%E4%BD%A0%E7%9A%84%E8%A2%9C/10047#10047  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-01-14. Score: 2

Duplication of words is very common in Chinese. It doesn't have much grammatical meaning but it adds a little emphasis.

Sometimes, especially for Chinese spoken in Singapore (my native tongue), the order [verb][verb][particle] is used more often for better cohesion.

For example:
让我想想一下吧! （Usually 让我想一想吧!）--> Please let me think for a moment.
你的伤这么严重，让我看看！(Usually 你的伤这么严重，让我看一看!) --> Your injury is very serious, let me see.


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