Duration & Frequency Complements
Duration and frequency complements go after a verb to say how long an action lasted or how many times it happened. Duration uses phrases like 两个小时, while frequency uses a number plus a measure word such as 次 or 遍.
动量补语 (frequency) — how MANY TIMES: V + 过/了 + Number + 次/遍/趟 (+ Object). ✅ 我去过两次北京。
Key rule: if the object is a PRONOUN (他/她/它/你/我), it must come BEFORE the frequency complement. ✅ 我见过他两次。 ❌ 我见过两次他。
Worked examples
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我们在车站等了两个小时。 | Wǒmen zài chēzhàn děngle liǎng ge xiǎoshí. | We waited at the station for two hours. | V(等)+了+duration(两个小时), the minimal duration-complement frame with no object. |
| 我去过三次上海。 | Wǒ qùguo sān cì Shànghǎi. | I've been to Shanghai three times. | V(去)+过+frequency(三次)+noun object(上海) — the noun object comes after the frequency complement. |
| 医生已经提醒过他好几次了，让他别再抽烟。 | Yīshēng yǐjīng tíxǐngguo tā hǎo jǐ cì le, ràng tā bié zài chōuyān. | The doctor has already warned him several times to stop smoking. | The object is a PRONOUN (他), so it must come BEFORE the frequency complement (好几次) — the opposite order from example 2's noun object. |
Word by word
Each word in this pattern on its own: what it does here, the structure, three more examples, and the mistake to avoid.
次 (cì)
Counts how many times an action happens.
Structure: Verb + 了 / 过 + number + 次 (+ object)
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 这部电影我看了两次。 | Zhè bù diàn yǐng wǒ kàn le liǎng cì. | I have watched this film twice. |
| 他每个月回一次家。 | Tā měi gè yuè huí yí cì jiā. | He goes home once a month. |
| 我给他打了两次电话，他都没接。 | Wǒ gěi tā dǎ le liǎng cì diàn huà, tā dōu méi jiē. | I called him twice and he did not answer either time. |
Not: 我看了电影两次。 With an ordinary object, put the number of times before the object: 看了两次电影.
In the official HSK 3.0 grammar outline: level 2, measure words (动量词).
次 is also explained in: Quantity Complements: Action Count and Comparison Degree (HSK 2) · Action measure words: 次/遍/趟/顿/场 (HSK 4) · Frequency complement: V+次/遍/趟 (HSK 4).
遍 (biàn)
Counts one full run through something from start to end.
Structure: Verb + 了 + number + 遍 (+ object)
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 这篇课文我读了三遍。 | Zhè piān kè wén wǒ dú le sān biàn. | I read this text three times through. |
| 老师把那个句子又说了一遍。 | Lǎo shī bǎ nà gè jù zi yòu shuō le yí biàn. | The teacher said that sentence once more. |
| 请你再说一遍，我没听清楚。 | Qǐng nǐ zài shuō yí biàn, wǒ méi tīng qīng chǔ. | Please say it once more, I did not hear clearly. |
Not: 我读课文了三遍。 了 goes right after the verb and before the number: 读了三遍课文.
In the official HSK 3.0 grammar outline: level 3, measure words (动量词).
遍 is also explained in: Classifiers: 层、封、件、条、位 and Action Measures (HSK 2) · Action measure words: 次/遍/趟/顿/场 (HSK 4) · Frequency complement: V+次/遍/趟 (HSK 4).
个小时 (gè xiǎo shí)
Says how long an action lasted.
Structure: Verb + 了 + number + 个小时 (+ 的 + object)
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我每天睡八个小时。 | Wǒ měi tiān shuì bā gè xiǎo shí. | I sleep eight hours every day. |
| 他在图书馆看了三个小时书。 | Tā zài tú shū guǎn kàn le sān gè xiǎo shí shū. | He read for three hours in the library. |
| 这趟火车要坐十个小时。 | Zhè tàng huǒ chē yào zuò shí gè xiǎo shí. | This train ride takes ten hours. |
Not: 我学了汉语三年。 The length of time goes before a plain object: 学了三年汉语 or 汉语学了三年.
Compared side by side: 次 vs 遍.
What you need first
Every topic in GraphChinese names its own prerequisites, and these are the grammar points this one is built on. If a sentence here will not parse, one of them is why.
What this opens up
These patterns list Duration & Frequency Complements among their own prerequisites, so they become readable once this one holds.
Questions about Duration & Frequency Complements
What does 时量补语与动量补语 (Duration & Frequency Complements) mean in Chinese?
Duration and frequency complements go after a verb to say how long an action lasted or how many times it happened. Duration uses phrases like 两个小时, while frequency uses a number plus a measure word such as 次 or 遍. It is an HSK 3 grammar point.
How do you use 时量补语与动量补语 (Duration & Frequency Complements) in a sentence?
我们在车站等了两个小时。 — Wǒmen zài chēzhàn děngle liǎng ge xiǎoshí. — We waited at the station for two hours. V(等)+了+duration(两个小时), the minimal duration-complement frame with no object.
What do you need to know before 时量补语与动量补语 (Duration & Frequency Complements)?
Quantity Complements (HSK 2). This pattern is built out of them, so a sentence here that will not parse usually means one of them has not landed yet.
What does 时量补语与动量补语 (Duration & Frequency Complements) lead to?
Duration complement (HSK 4), Repetition & Serial Verb Patterns (HSK 3). Each of them names 时量补语与动量补语 (Duration & Frequency Complements) among its own prerequisites.
Where does the time length go when there is an object?
Put it between the verb and the object: 学了三年汉语 or 看了两个小时电视. You can also repeat the verb, as in 学汉语学了三年.
What is the difference between 次 and 遍?
次 counts any occurrence, while 遍 counts a complete run from beginning to end. 我去过两次 means I went twice, and 我读了两遍 means I read it through twice.
Duration & Frequency Complements is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
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