加倍 (jiā bèi) — to double, to redouble; doubly, extra

Definition

加倍 works as a verb ('to double') or adverb ('doubly, extra') modifying effort, investment, or care. Closer to 翻番 in meaning; 额外 means merely 'additional,' not multiplied.

to doubleto redoubledoublyextra

Examples

加倍，。
Zhè ge xué qī tā jiā bèi le nǔ lì, suǒ yǐ chéng jì tí gāo le.
This semester he doubled his efforts, so his grades improved.
加倍。
Xià yǔ tiān kāi chē yào jiā bèi xiǎo xīn.
On rainy days you need to be extra careful when driving.
加倍。
Wǒ men jì huà jiā bèi tóu zī lái kuò dà yè wù.
We plan to double our investment to expand the business.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

加jiāadd

倍bèitimes

加 'add' and 倍 'times' combine to mean add a multiple, i.e. double.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

力口加

力力lìstrength
口口kǒumouth

加 pairs 力 and 口. In one explanation 力 is strength and 口 is the mouth, meaning exaggeration; in another 力 is plowing effort and 口 is breath or exclamation, meaning extra effort.

Open 加 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

人人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

咅

咅pǒu倍bèi

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

倍 has 人 on the left and 咅 on the right; 人 points to a person, while 咅 gives the sound.

Open 倍 →

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Math