The word "help" can be translated as either "帮助" (bāngzhù) or "帮忙"(bāngmáng) in Chinese. But when you want to say "help him", you will be corrected by your Chinese teacher if you say 帮忙他 (bāngmáng tā). There is a reason why you can only say 帮助他 (help him) although帮助" (bāngzhù) and "帮忙"(bāngmáng) have the same meaning. Even more advanced students of Chinese may find this confusing.
"离" (lí) means separate, "合" (hé) means unite. Thus, "离合词" (lí hé cí), as the name implies, means that this kind of words can be used as a single word or as a phrase.
He has difficulties, we should do him a favor.
This is another situation that is not covered in this article.
These all belong to separable words. "见"(jiàn), "握"(wò) and "跳"(tiào) are all verbs. "面"(miàn), "手"(shǒu) and "舞"(wǔ) are all nouns. But this trick does not work for all separable words. It must still be said that the most effective way to know separate words is through experience and daily learning.
We have met each other.
She has been married two times.
He read the book for an hour.
Hearing this news, she got angry.
He has studied this problem.
I revised this article three times.
We discussed this item for a whole morning.
We cannot keep cooperating anymore.
I want to have a chat with you.
Let's go for a walk after dinner.
Class is over and you can all can have a rest.
It's such a complicated problem that we need further discussion before making the decision.
We spent half an hour taking photos.
He got married three times in his whole life.
While he was listening to lesson, he nearly fell asleep.
I ran with sweat all over my face.
They discussed for an hour.
We were in a quite a lively discussion.
I will meet him this afternoon.
You should make an apology to him.
It seems that you are angry with her.
I will watch a TV program at 8 o'clock in the evening.
Let me introduce a new friend to you.
Here is a list of some common separable words and common general verbs for your study.
In this article, we have learned the conception and usage of 离合词(líhé cí). It is indeed a difficult part of Chinese grammar. You may feel a bit confused at first, but practice and study will lead to understanding and mastery of离合词(líhé cí). This is part of the journey toward speaking and understanding authentic Chinese, and to have better communication with native Chinese speakers.
Spring Zhang (张云梦) earned her Master' s Degree from Beijing Language and Culture University in 2016. A 7- year studying experience majoring in Teaching Chinese as an International Language provided her with a solid and professional foundation as a Chinese teacher. During her time as a student, she also had 4-year experience teaching overseas students in universities, which makes her understand her students' difficulties better. She now lives in Singapore and she devotes herself to Chinese Language education.
It'd be nice if the word lists were text instead of images though.
Oh, merci so much for this, im really loving it!