帮忙幫忙 bāngmáng — to help out, to lend a hand
bāngmáng (first tone, high and level)bang1mang2
Traditional: 幫忙
to help out, to lend a hand
HSK 3· HSK 1–4 (classic)verb
Meanings
to help out, to lend a hand
To help. It is a separable verb — 帮 "help" plus 忙 "trouble" — so the person helped and any counting word go *inside* it: 帮我一个忙, 帮了他很多忙. Nothing may follow the whole word.
verb
Example sentences
- 你能帮我一个忙吗？你能幫我一個忙嗎？Nǐ (third tone, dipping) néng (second tone, rising) bāng (first tone, high and level) wǒ (third tone, dipping) yí (second tone, rising) ge (neutral tone) máng (second tone, rising) ma? (neutral tone)···
Could you do me a favour?
- 谢谢你今天来帮忙。謝謝你今天來幫忙。Xièxie (fourth tone, falling) nǐ (third tone, dipping) jīntiān (first tone, high and level) lái (second tone, rising) bāngmáng. (first tone, high and level)···
Thank you for coming to help today.
Common mistakes
Not quite你能帮忙我吗？
Correct你能帮我的忙吗？
帮忙 splits: whoever is helped goes between 帮 and 忙 — 帮我的忙, 帮他一个忙. Putting the person after the whole word is the commonest HSK 3 slip. If you want a verb that takes its object directly, use 帮助.
Not quite他帮忙了我学习汉语。
Correct他帮我学习汉语。
Because 帮忙 already ends in its own object, it cannot be followed by a second one. To say what you help someone *do*, drop 忙 and use plain 帮 (or 帮助).