Turning adjectives into adverbs

You can easily convert Chinese adjectives into adverbs with 地 (de). This character is very similar to the English suffix -ly.

Structure

In Chinese, we place the structural particle 地 (de) after the adjective to make it an adverb.

Subj. + Adj. + 地 + Verb

Examples

• 你 要 努力 地 学习 。Nǐ yào nǔlì de xuéxí.You must study hard.
• 雨天 地 滑 ，慢 慢 地 走 。Yǔtiān dì huá, màn màn de zǒu.The floor is very slippery in rainy days. Walk slowly.
• 祝 你 顺利 地 通过 考试 。Zhù nǐ shùnlì de tōngguò kǎoshì.Wish you pass the exam successfully.
• 小猫 舒服 地 躺 在 沙发 上 。Xiǎomāo shūfu de tǎng zài shāfā shàng.The kitten is comfortably lying on the sofa.
• 他 热情 地 拥抱 了 我 。Tā rèqíng de yōngbào le wǒ.He gave me a very warm embrace.
• 她 激动 地 对 我 说 “谢谢 ” 。Tā jīdòng de duì wǒ shuō "xièxie".She said "Thank you" to me excitedly.
• 老师 生气 地 看 着 我们 。Lǎoshī shēngqì de kàn zhe wǒmen.The teacher is looking at us angrily.
• 孩子们 开心 地 唱 了 起来 。Háizi men kāixīn de chàng le qǐlai.The children started to sing happily.
• 大家 都 在 教室 里 安安静静 地 看书 。Dàjiā dōu zài jiàoshì lǐ ān ān jìng jìng de kàn shū.Everybody is reading quietly in the classroom.
• 我 希望 你 快快乐乐 地 长大 。Wǒ xīwàng nǐ kuài kuài lè lè de zhǎngdà.I hope that you grow up happily.

See also

• Structural particle "de"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 72) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 192) →buy