跳舞 tiàowǔ — to dance

Meanings

1. 1

   to dance

   To dance. Like 跑步 and 唱歌 it is a verb plus its own object — 跳 "to leap" and 舞 "a dance" — so anything added to the verb goes between the two halves: 跳了一个小时的舞.

   verb

Example sentences

• 她跳舞跳得很好。Tā (first tone, high and level) tiàowǔ (fourth tone, falling) tiào (fourth tone, falling) de (neutral tone) hěn (third tone, dipping) hǎo. (third tone, dipping)···

  She dances very well.

• 晚上我们一起去跳舞吧。/晚上我們一起去跳舞吧。Wǎnshang (third tone, dipping) wǒmen (third tone, dipping) yìqǐ (fourth tone, falling) qù (fourth tone, falling) tiàowǔ (fourth tone, falling) ba. (neutral tone)···

  Let’s go dancing together this evening.

Common mistakes

• Not quite我跳舞了两个小时。

  Correct我跳了两个小时的舞。

  跳舞 already contains its object, so a duration cannot be tacked on after it. The measured time goes inside, between 跳 and 舞 — the same split as 跑了半个小时的步.

Similar words