Verb reduplication and V + 一下

动词重叠 / verb reduplication

Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral

V V / V 一 V / V 了 V / AB AB / V + 一下

Reduplicating a verb adds a sense of "a little, briefly, give it a try" and makes a suggestion more casual: 你看看 (have a look), 我们聊聊 (let's chat a bit).

Forms: 看看 / 看一看 (1 syllable), 休息休息 / 介绍介绍 (2 syllables: ABAB), 看了看 (past). The repeated syllable is neutral tone.

V + 一下 does the same: 等一下, 介绍一下. Note: separable verbs repeat only the verb part: 散散步, 聊聊天.

Examples

你看看这个，怎么样？
Nǐ kànkan zhège, zěnmeyàng?
Take a look at this: what do you think?
周末我们一起去公园散散步吧。
Zhōumò wǒmen yìqǐ qù gōngyuán sànsan bù ba.
Let's take a little walk in the park this weekend.
你太累了，休息休息吧。
Nǐ tài lèi le, xiūxi xiūxi ba.
You're exhausted: rest a bit.
我想一想再告诉你。
Wǒ xiǎng yi xiǎng zài gàosu nǐ.
Let me think about it and I'll tell you.

Common mistakes

✗ 散步散步 → ✓ 散散步.

✗ 休休息息 → ✓ 休息休息 (ABAB, not AABB: AABB is for adjectives).
Don't reduplicate with a duration or 着: ✗ 看看了三个小时.