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    Chinese Grammar

    Expressing 'to knock' with 敲 (qiāo)

    Actions & Events

    Structure

    敲 + (了敲) + Object

    Explanation

    敲 (qiāo) means "to knock" or "to tap" and describes the action of striking a surface, typically a door, with one's hand or knuckles. It is often reduplicated as 敲了敲 to indicate a brief, casual knocking action. For example, 敲了敲门 means "knocked on the door."

    Examples

    • 他走到门前，轻轻敲了敲门。

      Tā zǒu dào mén qián, qīngqīng qiāo le qiāo mén.

      He walked to the door and knocked gently.

    • 有人在敲窗户，你去看看是谁。

      Yǒu rén zài qiāo chuānghù, nǐ qù kànkan shì shéi.

      Someone is knocking on the window; go see who it is.

    • 她敲了半天门，里面都没人应。

      Tā qiāo le bàntiān mén, lǐmiàn dōu méi rén yìng.

      She knocked on the door for a long time, but no one answered inside.

    Expressing 'to knock' with 敲 (qiāo) | Chinese Grammar