Reduplication of Measure Words in Chinese: 个个、天天、件件…

In today’s blog, let’s learn an HSK 2 grammar point that talks about the reduplication of measure words. When a measure word is reduplicated, it emphasises “every” or “each” object under a certain category. In a sentence where the measure word is duplicated, a “都(dou1, all/both)” usually follows after.

The sentence pattern is

“Subject + AA + 都 + Verb/Adjective Phrase”.

Let’s look at some examples below:

Reduplication of 个个

• 我要结婚了，朋友们个个都很高兴。

  wo3 yao4 jie2 hun1 le0, peng2 you0 men0 ge4 ge4 dou1 hen3 gao1 xing4.

  I’m getting married, every friend is happy for me.

• 这里的模特们个个都很漂亮。

  zhe4 li3 de0 mo2 te4 men0 ge4 ge4 dou1 hen3 piao4 liang0.

  Every model here is very pretty.

Replication of 天天

• 我的女儿天天都想吃糖。

  wo3 de0 nv3 er2 tian1 tian1 dou1 xiang3 chi1 tang2.

  My daughter wants to eat sweets every day.

• 小刚很喜欢小丽，天天都想见到她。

  xiao3 gang1 hen3 xi3 huan0 xiao3 li4, tian1 tian1 dou1 xiang3 jian4 dao4 ta1.

  Xiao Gang like Xiao Li a lot, he wants to see her every day.

Replication of 件件

• 这里的裙子件件都很好看。

  zhe4 li3 de0 qun2 zi0 jian4 jian4 dou1 hen3 hao3 kan4.

  Every piece of dress here is good-looking.

• 今天要做的事情件件都很重要。

  jin1 tian1 yao4 zuo4 de0 shi4 qing0 jian4 jian4 dou1 hen3 zhong4 yao4.

  Every matter that is going to be done today is important.

When reduplicating measure words, two things to keep in mind: 1) Know which measure word to use for the subject (noun) 2) 都(dou1, all/both) is usually present for emphasis purposes.

Hope that this post helps you better understand the reduplication of measure words in Chinese. To learn Mandarin Chinese with Hanhai in Singapore, in-person or online, please contact us for a free trial to determine your Chinese proficiency. See you in the next post!