Separable Verbs (离合词)
离合词
Use verb-object compounds that split apart in real sentences
A 离合词 looks like one verb (看病, 睡觉, 上课…) but is actually a verb + object glued together. When you add time, frequency, or aspect, the two halves SEPARATE and the modifier slips between them.
Standard HSK 1 离合词 set: 看病, 睡觉, 说话, 上课, 下课, 上班, 下班, 生病. Treat each as a phrase you can split, not a fixed word.
Lesson Targets
Podcast
Podcast: Separable Verbs (离合词) (离合词)
Listen to Jason & Amy explain the 离合词 pattern
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Understanding 离合词
In English, "to sleep" stays glued together no matter what. In Chinese, dozens of "verbs" you learn as single units are secretly two pieces — a verb-half and a noun-half — that come apart the moment you say HOW LONG, HOW OFTEN, or WHETHER it happened. 睡觉 (to sleep) is literally "sleep + sleep-noun"; 上课 (to have class) is "go-up + lesson"; 看病 (to see a doctor) is "look-at + illness." When you want to say "I slept for eight hours," you cannot say 我睡觉了八个小时 — the duration must climb inside: 我睡了八个小时的觉. This pattern shows up in everyday HSK 1 vocabulary, so spotting separable verbs early saves you from a classic learner mistake.
Key Points
- The HSK 1 separable verbs are: 看病, 睡觉, 说话, 上课, 下课, 上班, 下班, 生病.
- When nothing splits them, they look and act like ordinary verbs: 我上班 (I go to work).
- Aspect 了/过 attaches to the VERB half, not the whole word: 上了班 (clocked in), 上过课 (have had class).
- Duration and frequency go BETWEEN the halves: 睡了八个小时（的）觉 (slept eight hours).
- Objects of the noun half take 的 or no marker, never a second object after the whole word.
- 不 / 没 negates the verb half only: 没上班 (didn't go to work), 不上课 (don't have class).
- You CANNOT put another object after a separable verb — say 见面 (meet), then introduce the person with 跟: 我跟他见面 (NOT 见面他).
- Reduplication splits too: 看看病 ✗ → 看一看 ✓; 说说话 (chat a bit) ✓ because both halves repeat naturally.
Asking 你今天上班吗？(Are you working today?) is a friendly small-talk opener in Chinese workplaces. Recognising 上班 / 下班 / 上课 / 下课 as separable lets you slot in time references naturally: 我九点上班，六点下班.
Key Vocabulary
Example Sentences
我每天晚上十一点睡觉。
I go to sleep at 11 p.m. every night.
Unsplit form — works like a normal verb.
昨天我睡了八个小时的觉。
I slept eight hours yesterday.
Duration slides BETWEEN the halves; 了 sticks to 睡.
我们八点上课，十点下课。
We start class at eight and finish at ten.
Classic HSK 1 separable pair.
他生病了，今天不上班。
He's sick, so he's not going to work today.
我上过三次课了。
I've already had class three times.
过 + frequency slot between 上 and 课.
请你不要在这儿说话。
Please don't talk here.
医生说我应该多睡觉。
The doctor said I should sleep more.
Adverb 多 sits OUTSIDE the separable verb here.
妈妈昨天去看病了。
Mom went to see a doctor yesterday.
他下了班就回家。
As soon as he gets off work, he goes home.
了 attaches to 下, not to 下班.
我们说了一个小时的话。
We talked for an hour.
Duration + 的 + 话 — the classic split.
Common Mistakes
Duration must climb INSIDE a separable verb. 了 + duration both belong between the two halves, joined to the noun half with 的.
A separable verb already has its own object built in. You cannot attach another noun after it — bring the person in with 跟 / 和 before the verb instead.
没 negates the verb half (上); the time word stays in front of the whole structure. Word order: Time + 没 + V-O.
Practice Exercises
Tips & Tricks
Mental model: a separable verb is really TWO words living under one roof. Visualise the space between them — that's where 了, 过, durations and frequencies move in.
Memorise the HSK 1 set as VERB-half + NOUN-half pairs: 睡|觉, 上|课, 下|班, 看|病. Once you see the seam, splitting becomes automatic.
When in doubt, ask "does this verb already have an object inside?" If yes, never tack another noun on directly.
A handy test: try inserting 一下. 看一下病, 说一下话, 睡一下觉 — if it works, you have a separable verb.
Homework
Write five sentences using HSK 1 separable verbs, with at least three of them split open by a duration, a frequency, or 了/过. Then check that no separable verb in your paragraph is followed by an extra noun object.