Separable verbs 离合词: 见面/洗澡/毕业
离合词 are verb-object compounds that can be split. The object is built in, so you cannot add another object after the whole compound.
Common 离合词: 见面 (meet), 洗澡 (bathe), 毕业 (graduate), 帮忙 (help), 散步 (stroll), 聊天 (chat), 起床 (get up)
Splitting rules — insert between the two parts:
1. Aspect markers 了/过/着: 见了面, 洗了澡, 聊过天
2. Frequency/duration: 见了三次面, 散了一会儿步
3. 的/得: 帮了忙 → 帮得很忙 (busy helping)
❌ Common errors:
- ❌ 我见面了三次 → ✅ 我见了三次面
- ❌ 毕业了学校 → ✅ 从学校毕业 / 毕业于学校
Worked examples
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我们上周见了一次面，谈了很多事情。 | Wǒ men shàng zhōu jiàn le yī cì miàn, tán le hěn duō shì qíng. | We met once last week and talked about many things. | 见了一次面: frequency complement (一次) inserted between 见 and 面 |
| 他每天早上六点起床，起了床就去跑步。 | Tā měi tiān zǎo shang liù diǎn qǐ chuáng, qǐ le chuáng jiù qù pǎo bù. | He gets up at 6 every morning — as soon as he's up, he goes running. | 起了床: 了 inserted between 起 and 床 to mark completed action |
| 她去年从北京大学毕业，今年开始工作了。 | Tā qù nián cóng Běijīng Dà xué bì yè, jīn nián kāi shǐ gōng zuò le. | She graduated from Peking University last year and started working this year. | 从…毕业: when specifying the school, use 从…毕业 (not 毕业学校) |
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 Separable verbs 离合词 among their own prerequisites, so they become readable once this one holds.
Separable verbs 离合词 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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