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足足 + Amount (a full / as much as)
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A whole three hours
- The queue for the new museum exhibition was much longer than you expected.
- we / us我们a full足足a row排(completed / change)了三个hour小时(modifier / structural particle)的squadron队。 — "We queued for a full three hours."
a full足足 + amount = a full, fully
- a full足足 + number + measure word stresses that the amount is large, at least that much: a full足足三个hour小时, a full足足ten十kilos公斤.
- It goes before the verb or directly before the amount.
this这个suitcase箱子a full足足has有twenty二十kilos公斤。
Complete: “We waited a full two hours.” 我们____等了两个小时。
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足足 stresses a large amount.
Emphasising size, time or weight
- he他a full足足than / compared to比I / me我high高(completed / change)了一个头。 — "He's a full head taller than me."
- this这to stop顿meal饭a full足足cost花(completed / change)了five hundred五百yuan块。 — "This meal cost a whole 500 yuan."
this这顿meal饭a full足足cost花了five hundred五百yuan块。
Build: “This meal cost a whole 500 yuan.”
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足足 + verb + amount.
Large amounts only
- a full足足 stresses a large amount; for "only" a small amount use only then / not until才 / only只: only then / not until才五分钟.
- It needs a number: a full足足三天, not just a full足足degree / adjective linker很(long) time久.
“It only took five minutes.” Which fits?
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才 marks an amount as small (“only five minutes”). 足足 does the opposite: it stresses that an amount is large (足足等了两个小时), so it cannot combine with 才 here.
a full足足 versus a whole整整
- a whole整整 also means "a whole, exactly": a whole整整day一天 — "a whole day". It stresses completeness.
- a full足足 stresses that the amount is large, even more than expected.
he他a whole整整day一天didn't没eat吃anything东西。
整整一天 stresses a whole, complete day.
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True. 整整 stresses a full, complete amount (整整一天 “a whole day”, 整整十年 “ten full years”), often with the feeling that it is a lot.
Recap
- a full足足 + amount = a full / as much as (a large amount, stressed).
- Small amounts use only then / not until才 / only只; a whole整整 = a whole, exactly.
Read the full reference: HSK 6 grammar — Adverbs.
The queue for the new museum exhibition was much longer than you expected. Close the examples. Say a Mandarin response, then write it in Chinese. Explain briefly in English what the lesson’s pattern adds. Compare with the model, then change one detail and try again.
This is supported productive practice. Compare meaning and structure; your answer need not copy the model. A partner or teacher must hear the spoken response to comment on pronunciation.