Separable Verbs (离合词) (lí hé cí) are Mandarin verb-object compounds that split apart when you insert detail between their two characters. Words like 见面 (jiàn miàn), 睡觉 (shuì jiào), and 结婚 (jié hūn) look like single verbs, but when you add 过, 了, or a count such as 一次, you break them open and place the detail in the middle.
The core structure is A + element + B. Take 见面 (jiàn miàn) — the verb 见 and the object 面. Instead of keeping them together, you insert the detail between them:
我跟他见过一次面 (wǒ gēn tā jiàn guò yí cì miàn) — I've met him once.
Here 过 (the experience marker) and 一次 (the count) sit between 见 and 面. The same applies to 睡觉 (shuì jiào), 结婚 (jié hūn), 毕业 (bì yè), 帮忙 (bāng máng), and 游泳 (yóu yǒng) — each is a verb plus an object, and each splits the same way.
In this roughly 10-minute live conversation lesson, you talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin. She asks you about real experiences — how many times you've met someone, whether someone has gotten married, how well you slept — and you respond using split verb compounds. Mei Lin corrects your grammar and pronunciation in the flow of conversation and adapts to your level, so you practice Separable Verbs (离合词) in context rather than memorizing rules. You can try your first lesson free; no credit card is required to start talking.
This lesson is part of a broader set of HSK 3 lessons covering key grammar patterns. When you're ready to move on, another HSK 3 live lesson titled "Sharing Perspectives" teaches the pattern 对...来说 (duì...lái shuō). To reinforce your writing alongside speaking, you can use the free printable Chinese worksheet generator with ready-made packs covering HSK 1–3 words.
Separable Verbs (离合词) are verb-object compounds like 见面 (jiàn miàn) and 结婚 (jié hūn) that split apart when you add detail. The structure is A + element + B, as in 我跟他见过一次面 (wǒ gēn tā jiàn guò yí cì miàn) — the experience marker 过 and the count 一次 are inserted between 见 and 面 rather than placed after the whole compound.
The lesson covers 见面 (jiàn miàn), 睡觉 (shuì jiào), 结婚 (jié hūn), 毕业 (bì yè), 帮忙 (bāng máng), and 游泳 (yóu yǒng). Each is a verb plus an object, so when you add 过, 了, or a quantity, you split the two characters and insert the detail in between.
You talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin for about 10 minutes. She asks about real experiences — how many times you've met someone, whether someone has gotten married, how well you slept — and you respond by splitting verb compounds apart. She corrects your grammar and pronunciation as you speak and adapts to your level.
Yes, you can try your first live conversation lesson free; no credit card is required to start talking. The lesson focuses on one grammar pattern — Separable Verbs (离合词) — and takes roughly 10 minutes. You can also print handwriting worksheets with the free Chinese Worksheet Generator to reinforce the vocabulary.