Adjectives with "-ji le"

Just as 死了 (sǐle) can be used to intensify negative adjectives, 极了 (jíle) can be used to intensify positive adjectives. This is used in spoken, colloquial Chinese. 极 means "extreme" or "utmost," so using this grammar pattern takes your positive adjectives to the extreme!

Structure

It's as simple as using 极了 after the positive adjective.

Subj. + Positive Adj. + 极了

This structure is technically a kind of degree complement, and one of the few that you can use after the adjective and without adding a 得.

Examples

• 这个 主意 好 极了 。Tā hǎo jíle.This idea is perfect.
• 味道 好 极了 ! Wèidào hǎo jíle.The taste is perfect!
• 他 的 英文 棒 极了 。Tā de Yīngwén bàng jíle.His English is perfect.
• 宝宝 们 可爱 极了 。Bǎobǎo men kě'ài jíle.These babies are very cute.
• 婚礼 热闹 极了 。Hūnlǐ rènao jíle.The wedding was very lively.
• 他 那么 生气 ，我们 都 害怕 极了 。Tā nàme shēngqì, wǒmen dōu hàipà jíle.He was so angry. We were all very scared.
• 高考 那 天 ，我 紧张 极了 。Gāokǎo nà tiān, wǒ jǐnzhāng jíle.I was very nervous the day I took the college entrance examination.
• 图书馆 一点 声音 都 没有 ，安静 极了 。Túshūguǎn yīdiǎn shēngyīn dōu méiyǒu, ānjìng jíle.There is no sound at all in the library. It's very quiet.

Remember to add the 了, since this is sort of an exclamatory statement similar to 太好了. It would be incorrect without it.

• 今天 我 的 精神 好 极。Jīntiān wǒ de jīngshén hǎo jí.
• 今天 我 的 精神 好 极了。Jīntiān wǒ de jīngshén hǎo jíle.

See also

• Negative adjectives with "-si le"
• Adjectives with "name" and "zheme"
• Adjectival complement "de budeliao"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (1st ed) (pp. 8)
• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (pp. 348) →buy
• Boya Chinese Elementary Starter 1 (博雅汉语初经起步篇) (pp. 190) →buy
• 现代汉语八百词 (p. 286-287) →buy