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    Chinese Grammar

    Expressing 'to ski' with 滑雪 (huáxuě)

    Actions & Events
    Direction & Movement

    Structure

    滑 + (modifier) + 雪

    Explanation

    滑雪 (huáxuě) means "to ski" and is a separable verb composed of 滑 (to slide) and 雪 (snow). Because it is separable, other elements such as 了 or duration phrases can be inserted between the two characters. For example, 滑了一天雪 means "skied for a whole day."

    Examples

    • 我们冬天去北海道滑雪吧。

      wǒmen dōngtiān qù Běihǎidào huáxuě ba.

      Let's go skiing in Hokkaido this winter.

    • 她上个周末滑了一整天雪，累坏了。

      tā shàng ge zhōumò huá le yī zhěng tiān xuě, lèi huài le.

      She skied for a whole day last weekend and was exhausted.

    • 你滑过雪吗？我还没试过呢。

      nǐ huáguò xuě ma? wǒ hái méi shìguò ne.

      Have you ever skied? I haven't tried it yet.