Reduplication in Chinese repeats all or part of a word to soften its tone, indicate brevity, or add a sense of casualness. Verbs can be reduplicated to mean "do something a little" (e.g., 看看), and adjectives can be reduplicated for emphasis or vividness (e.g., 高高兴兴). The pattern varies depending on whether the base word is one or two syllables.