Breakdown of nǐ lái kànkan zhè gè dìfang ba.
Used when counting nouns or when specifying a specific instance of a noun.
There are also classifiers for people, for bound items such as books and magazines, for cups/glasses, etc.
The classifier 个 is a general one that can be used for any of these.
Questions & Answers about nǐ lái kànkan zhè gè dìfang ba.
来 does keep its basic meaning of “come (toward the speaker / toward here)”, but in sentences like this it also works as a very common way to introduce an action you want someone to do.
Here, 你来看看… is like saying “(You) come and have a look …” or “(You) come over to look …”.
It emphasizes the idea of moving over here (physically or mentally) and then doing the action 看.
Repeating a verb in Chinese often makes the action sound:
- short / brief (do it for a bit)
- casual / light (not a big serious action)
- softer / friendlier in tone
So 看 = to look, while 看看 ≈ “have a look / take a quick look / look a bit”.
In this sentence, 看看 makes the invitation sound more relaxed and less like a strict command.
All three express a brief, light action and are very close in meaning:
- 看看 – very common, a bit more colloquial; feels light and casual.
- 看一看 – slightly more “complete” sounding, but still everyday and natural.
- 看一下 – literally “look one time / look a little”; also very common in spoken Chinese.
In most everyday contexts, for “have a quick look”, you can use any of them and the difference is tiny.
You do not combine them (e.g. 看一看看 or 看一下下 in this sense is wrong or childish/silly).
Chinese usually follows this pattern: “this + measure word + noun” → 这 + 个 + 地方.
Here, 个 is the measure word (classifier) for 地方, so 这个地方 is the “default” full form.
You can say 这地方 in casual speech, and people often do; it sounds a bit more colloquial or compact.
But 这个地方 is the safest, most standard form learners should use.
地方 is a very common, general word meaning “place / area / location”.
It’s often used in everyday conversation for any place: a room, a city, a spot on the floor, etc.
地点 also means “place / location” but is more formal and specific (used in announcements, tickets, news, etc.).
In a friendly spoken sentence inviting someone to look at a place, 地方 is the natural choice.
吧 softens the sentence and turns it into a suggestion or invitation, instead of a strict command.
- Without 吧: 你来看看这个地方。 → more like a direct “You come look at this place.”
- With 吧: 你来看看这个地方吧。 → more like “Come (and) have a look at this place, okay?” / “Why don’t you come have a look?”
So 吧 makes the tone softer, more polite, more “let’s do this”.
Grammatically it’s an imperative (telling someone to do something), but the combination:
- 你来看看… (casual, light action)
- plus 吧 (softening)
makes it feel like a friendly suggestion or invitation, not a harsh order.
Context and tone of voice will decide whether it feels more like “Come on, check it out” or “Please come have a look.”
Yes, both are possible, with slightly different feels:
- 来看看这个地方吧 – Drops 你. This is common if it’s already clear who you’re talking to (e.g. you’re looking at someone and calling them over).
- 你看看这个地方吧 – Drops 来. This feels less focused on coming over and more on the act of looking. It can suit situations where the person is already near the place.
The original 你来看看这个地方吧 combines both: you + come over + have a look.
In Chinese, the verb 看 can directly take an object: 看 + something = “look at / watch / see + something”.
So 看看这个地方 literally is “have a look this place”, but the idea “at” is already included in the verb 看, not in a separate preposition.
This is common in Chinese: many verbs that need a preposition in English don’t need one in Chinese.
地方 is pronounced dìfang:
- 地 (dì) – 4th tone
- 方 (fang) – often pronounced with a neutral tone in everyday speech (so it’s lighter and shorter than a full 1st tone).
So you’ll usually hear it as dì·fang (with fang very light), not two equally strong tones.