alt Hacker NewsI think this first example is spot on. Though a sibling comment's Wikipedia link doesn't mention it, there is a diminutive or hypocorism use that I feel is best translated into English with the -y or -ie suffix.
狗狗 doggy 猫猫 kitty 鸟鸟 birdie 宝宝 baby
And it kind of works for verbs too: 看看 [take a] looky
Yeah, I'm not sure what's going on with that Wikipedia page.
> Reduplication is sometimes employed in verbs and adjectives to enhance the effect of them.
> 胖胖的 pàng pàng de ('quite fat') from 胖 pàng ('fat')
This is the exact opposite of how I'd understand it. Saying someone is 胖 is just calling them fat (rude), but 胖胖的 is teasing, cute, chubby, etc.