Adjectives with "-ji le"

Just as 死了 (sǐle) can be used to intensify negative adjectives, 极了 (jíle) is a somewhat less common way to intensify both positive and negative adjectives. It is used in spoken, colloquial Chinese. 极 (jí) means "extreme" or "utmost."

Structure

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 (de). Remember to add the 了 (le), since it would be incorrect without it.

Subj. + Adj. + 极了

Examples

Some examples with a positive connotation:

• 这个 主意 好 极了 。Zhège zhǔyi 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.
• 婚礼 热闹 极了 。Hūnlǐ rènao jíle.The wedding was very lively.
• 一点 声音 都 没有 ，安静 极了 。Yīdiǎn shēngyīn dōu méiyǒu, ānjìng jíle.There is no sound at all. It's extremely quiet.

Some examples with a negative connotation:

• 昨天 的 派对 无聊 极了 ! Zuótiān de pàiduì wúliáo jíle!Yesterday's party was so boring!
• 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 so scared.
• 高考 那 天 ，我 紧张 极了 。Gāokǎo nà tiān, wǒ jǐnzhāng jíle.I was super nervous the day I took the college entrance examination.
• 这 件 事 让 我们 都 尴尬 极了 。Zhè jiàn shì ràng wǒmen dōu gāngà jíle.This incident made us all extremely embarrassed.
• 那个 男孩 讨厌 极了 ! Nàge nánhái tǎoyàn jíle!That boy is super annoying!

See also

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

Sources and further reading

Books

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