LEARN + CHINESE / 233 of 300 HSK 6
You Picked the Worst Time 偏偏
These patterns often carry frustration. One calls out bad timing, one shows the result of someone’s action, and one criticizes a choice to leave an obvious option unused.
Not Earlier, Not Later
早不X，晚不X…偏偏… frames a complaint: the action could have happened at another time, but it happened at the most inconvenient one.
早不说，晚不说，偏偏现在说。
Zǎo bù shuō, wǎn bù shuō, piānpiān xiànzài shuō.
You didn’t say it earlier or later; you had to say it now.
Look What You Did
看/瞧你把…X得 draws attention to a result caused by someone’s action; X得 describes how the person or thing ended up.
你看你把孩子吓得不敢说话了。
Nǐ kàn nǐ bǎ háizi xià de bù gǎn shuōhuà le.
Look, you scared the child so much they can’t speak.
Leaving the Obvious Thing Undone
放着X不Y criticizes someone for leaving X alone while doing Y instead.
放着好好的饭不吃，偏要吃零食。
Fàngzhe hǎohāo de fàn bù chī, piān yào chī língshí.
There’s a perfectly good meal, but you leave it and insist on eating snacks.
Hint · 힌트
Read the frame as a whole before translating each word. The repeated words are part of the pattern, not accidental repetition.
In Real Life
These forms are conversational: speakers use them to show annoyance, resignation, or emphasis. Tone of voice helps you tell playful teasing from real criticism.
Vocabulary
| Chinese | English |
|---|---|
zǎo | early |
wǎn | late |
shuō | to speak; say |
xiànzài | now |
piānpiān | contrary to expectations; willfully |
kàn | to look; read |
qiáo | to look at; see (colloquial) |
bǎ | (particle for object fronting) |
háizi | child |
xià | to frighten; scare |
shuōhuà | to talk |
hǎohǎo | well; carefully; good |
fàn | rice; meal |
chī | to eat |
língshí | snacks |
jiéguǒ | result; as a result |
shēngqì | angry |
gǎn | to dare |
fàng | to put; to release |
zhe | (aspect particle) |
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