Once you know what a separable verb is — a verb fused to its own built-in object — the next job is simply to recognize the members of the club. This page is a reference list of the 离合词 (líhécí) you meet first, grouped by the situations where they come up: getting through your day, socializing, having fun, and dealing with feelings. The single most useful habit is to store each one as a separable from the very first time you learn it, not as a plain transitive verb you'll later have to unlearn. If 结婚 ("marry") goes into your memory already tagged "no object allowed — use 跟 for the person," you will never make the classic beginner mistakes with it.
The everyday separables, by theme
Read each compound as a tiny sentence — verb, then a noun that is already its object. The last column shows the word doing what only separables do: splitting apart to admit aspect, a count, or a modifier.
| Theme | Compound | Literal (V + O) | Meaning | A typical split |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily routine | 起床 (qǐchuáng) | rise + bed | get up | 起了床 (got up) |
| 洗澡 (xǐzǎo) | wash + bath | shower, bathe | 洗个澡 (take a shower) | |
| 睡觉 (shuìjiào) | sleep + a sleep | sleep | 睡了一觉 (had a sleep) | |
| Socializing | 见面 (jiànmiàn) | see + face | meet | 见了一面 (met once) |
| 聊天 (liáotiān) | chat + chat | chat | 聊了一会儿天 (chatted a while) | |
| 吃饭 (chīfàn) | eat + rice | eat, have a meal | 吃过饭 (has eaten) | |
| 结婚 (jiéhūn) | tie + marriage | get married | 结过婚 (has been married) | |
| 离婚 (líhūn) | leave + marriage | divorce | 离了婚 (got divorced) | |
| Leisure & activity | 唱歌 (chànggē) | sing + song | sing | 唱了一首歌 (sang a song) |
| 跳舞 (tiàowǔ) | jump + dance | dance | 跳了一支舞 (danced a dance) | |
| 游泳 (yóuyǒng) | swim + swimming | swim | 游了一会儿泳 (swam a while) | |
| 散步 (sànbù) | scatter + step | take a stroll | 散散步 (take a little walk) | |
| Feelings & help | 生气 (shēngqì) | produce + temper | be angry | 生他的气 (be angry at him) |
| 担心 (dānxīn) | carry + heart | worry | 担什么心 (worry about what) | |
| 帮忙 (bāngmáng) | help + a task | help out | 帮个忙 (do a favor) | |
| School & work | 上课 (shàngkè) | attend + class | have class | 上了一节课 (had a class) |
| 请假 (qǐngjià) | request + leave | take time off | 请了三天假 (took three days off) | |
| 毕业 (bìyè) | finish + studies | graduate | 大学毕业 (graduate from college) |
Used whole: the default, intransitive shape
Most of the time you use these words whole, as ordinary intransitive verbs — no aspect between the halves, no object after them. This is the shape you'll say most often.
我每天六点起床。
wǒ měitiān liù diǎn qǐchuáng
I get up at six every day. (neutral) — 起床 whole, as a plain verb.
他们俩去年结婚了。
tāmen liǎ qùnián jiéhūn le
The two of them got married last year. (informal) — 结婚 as a whole event, no object.
周末我们常常去游泳。
zhōumò wǒmen chángcháng qù yóuyǒng
On weekends we often go swimming. (neutral) — 游泳 whole, after 去.
你怎么又生气了？
nǐ zěnme yòu shēngqì le?
Why are you angry again? (informal) — 生气 whole, with no target named.
Split apart: aspect, counts, and modifiers go inside
The moment you want to say how many times, how long, or what kind, the compound splits and the extra material lands between the two halves. (The full mechanics live on the splitting page — here are the reference forms in action.)
我请了三天假，回家看看父母。
wǒ qǐng le sān tiān jià, huí jiā kànkan fùmǔ
I took three days off to go home and see my parents. (informal) — 三天 sits inside 请…假.
她唱了一首很好听的歌。
tā chàng le yì shǒu hěn hǎotīng de gē
She sang a really lovely song. (neutral) — 一首 and the modifier go between 唱 and 歌.
吃完饭我们去散散步吧。
chī wán fàn wǒmen qù sànsan bù ba
Let's go for a little walk after dinner. (informal) — reduplicate the verb half only: 散散步.
孩子毕业以后想当老师。
háizi bìyè yǐhòu xiǎng dāng lǎoshī
After graduating, the kid wants to be a teacher. (neutral) — 毕业 before 以后, still whole here.
The object trap — where beginners fall
The reason it pays to flag these as a class is that every one of them refuses an outside object. The built-in noun already fills the slot, so a person can't be tacked onto the end. The two commonest crash sites are 生气 and 请假: you cannot say 生气他 or 请假三天. To be angry at him, the person becomes a possessor inside the compound — 生他的气. To take three days' leave, the duration goes inside — 请三天假. Naming a person needs a coverb before the verb; that whole toolkit is on the adding-an-object page.
别生我的气，我不是故意的。
bié shēng wǒ de qì, wǒ búshì gùyì de
Don't be mad at me, I didn't mean it. (informal) — the person slides in as 我的, between 生 and 气.
我想跟老同学见个面。
wǒ xiǎng gēn lǎo tóngxué jiàn ge miàn
I'd like to meet up with an old classmate. (informal) — the person rides on 跟, before the split verb.
Common Mistakes
1. Tacking a person onto 生气. "Be angry at someone" makes the person a possessor: 生 + 他的 + 气.
❌ 我很生气他。
Incorrect — 生气 already contains its object 气; a person can't follow it.
✅ 我很生他的气。
wǒ hěn shēng tā de qì
I'm really angry at him. — 他的 sits inside, between 生 and 气.
2. Putting the duration after 请假. The number of days counts the leave, so it goes inside 请…假.
❌ 我要请假三天。
Incorrect — 三天 must sit between 请 and 假, not after the whole word.
✅ 我要请三天假。
wǒ yào qǐng sān tiān jià
I want to take three days off. — 三天 inside the split.
3. Treating 毕业 like a transitive "graduate." The school is not an object; it comes before the verb (大学毕业 / 从大学毕业).
❌ 我毕业大学了。
Incorrect — 业 is already the object; 大学 can't follow 毕业.
✅ 我大学毕业了。
wǒ dàxué bìyè le
I've graduated from college. — 大学 sits before the verb.
4. Adding a friend after 见面. Meeting someone needs 跟, not a trailing object.
❌ 我们见面朋友。
Incorrect — 见面 already contains 面; the friend has nowhere to go on the end.
✅ 我们跟朋友见面。
wǒmen gēn péngyou jiànmiàn
We're meeting friends. — 跟朋友 before the verb.
Key Takeaways
- These everyday verbs — 睡觉, 洗澡, 见面, 聊天, 结婚, 唱歌, 跳舞, 生气, 帮忙, 请假, 毕业 — are all 离合词: verb + built-in object.
- Learn each one already tagged "separable, no outside object" so you never build a transitive habit to unlearn later.
- Used whole, they behave like intransitive verbs; split, they admit aspect, counts, and modifiers inside (请了三天假, 唱了一首歌).
- To name a person or a duration, reroute it — a coverb before the verb (跟朋友见面) or a possessor/measure inside (生他的气, 请三天假) — never a bare object on the end.
Now practice Chinese
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Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- Separable Verbs (离合词): What They AreHSK 2 — Many two-syllable 'verbs' — 见面, 睡觉, 结婚, 帮忙, 生气 — are secretly verb + object compounds (离合词). The second syllable is a built-in object, so they can split apart and they refuse to take another object: not 结婚她 but 跟她结婚.
- How Separable Verbs Split (见了一次面)HSK 3 — When you add aspect, duration, frequency, or a modifier to a 离合词, it slots INSIDE: 见了一次面 (met once), 睡了一个好觉 (had a good sleep), 结过婚 (has been married), 帮了我一个忙 (did me a favor). The 了/过 sticks to the verb half, never the whole word.
- Giving Separable Verbs an Object (跟他结婚)HSK 3 — A separable verb already holds its object, so an extra participant can't be tacked on after it. Two repairs: route the person through a coverb before the verb (跟他结婚, 给我帮忙, 对他生气), or smuggle it inside as a possessor (帮我的忙, 生你的气, 见他的面).