Level 3 · Intermediate
Doubling adjectives: 高高兴兴
AA / AABB (+ 地 + Verb)
Doubling an adjective makes it vivid and warm: 慢慢 "nice and slow", 高高兴兴 "all happy". One-syllable adjectives double as AA (慢慢 — in the north often 慢慢儿); two-syllable ones repeat each syllable as AABB: 高兴 → 高高兴兴, 舒服 → 舒舒服服.
Doubled adjectives often team up with 地 to describe an action: 孩子们高高兴兴地回家了. And because doubling already adds the flavor, don't stack 很 on top — 很高高兴兴 is wrong.
Examples
孩子们高高兴兴地回家了。
孩子們高高興興地回家了。
hái zi men gāo gāo xìng xìng de huí jiā le
The kids went home all happy.
别走那么快，我们慢慢地走吧。
別走那麼快，我們慢慢地走吧。
bié zǒu nà me kuài wǒ men màn màn de zǒu ba
Don't walk so fast — let's take it slow.
周末我想在家舒舒服服地休息。
週末我想在家舒舒服服地休息。
zhōu mò wǒ xiǎng zài jiā shū shu fu fu de xiū xi
On the weekend I want to rest at home in total comfort.
请你们安安静静地看书。
請你們安安靜靜地看書。
qǐng nǐ men ān ān jìng jìng de kàn shū
Please read quietly.
Common mistakes
✗ 他今天很高高兴兴。
✓ 他今天高高兴兴的。
Doubling already intensifies the adjective — don't add 很.
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like A Gentle Treatment (Part 3), A New Habit (Part 3), The Tired Old Engine (Part 3) inside the Literate Chinese app.
