Difference between revisions of "Negative adjectives with "-si le""
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* 他 <strong>难看</strong> <em>死了</em>。<span class="expl">It could be read as 'ugly to death'</span> <span class="trans">He's so ugly!</span> | * 他 <strong>难看</strong> <em>死了</em>。<span class="expl">It could be read as 'ugly to death'</span> <span class="trans">He's so ugly!</span> | ||
* 你 <strong>胖</strong> <em>死了</em>!<span class="expl">It could be read as 'fat to death'</span> <span class="trans">You're so fat!</span> | * 你 <strong>胖</strong> <em>死了</em>!<span class="expl">It could be read as 'fat to death'</span> <span class="trans">You're so fat!</span> | ||
− | * <strong>热</strong> <em>死了</em>!<span class="expl">It could be read as 'hot to death'</span> <span class="trans">It's | + | * <strong>热</strong> <em>死了</em>!<span class="expl">It could be read as 'hot to death'</span> <span class="trans">It's so hot!</span> |
− | * 这里 的 东西 <strong>贵</strong> <em>死了</em>。 | + | * 这里 的 东西 <strong>贵</strong> <em>死了</em>。<span class="expl">It could be read as 'expensive to death'</span> <span class="trans">The things here are so expensive!</span> |
− | * <strong>冷</strong> <em>死了</em>。 | + | * <strong>冷</strong> <em>死了</em>。<span class="expl">It could be read as 'cold to death'</span> <span class="trans">It's so cold!</span> |
− | * 今天 <strong>累</strong> <em>死了</em>。 | + | * 今天 <strong>累</strong> <em>死了</em>。<span class="expl">It could be read as 'tired to death'</span> <span class="trans">I'm so tired today!</span> |
− | * 我 快 <strong>忙</strong> <em>死了</em>。 | + | * 我 快 <strong>忙</strong> <em>死了</em>。<span class="expl">It could be read as 'busy to death'</span> <span class="trans">I'm so busy!</span> |
− | * <strong>急</strong> <em>死了</em>。 | + | * <strong>急</strong> <em>死了</em>。<span class="expl">It could be read as 'anxious to death'</span> <span class="trans">I'm so anxious!</span> |
− | * 你 <strong>慢</strong> <em>死了</em>。 | + | * 你 <strong>慢</strong> <em>死了</em>。<span class="expl">It could be read as 'slow to death'</span> <span class="trans">You're so slow!</span> |
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Revision as of 05:56, 27 February 2014
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Keywords
We might say things in English like "you scared me to death!". One way to intensify negative adjectives is to put 死了 (sǐle) after them. To express the opposite you would use 极了.
Structure
The "Subject" part below is actually optional; you can also make your over-the-top exclamations without it.
Subject + Negative adjective + 死了
Note that this structure is a degree complement (called 程度补语 in Chinese).
Examples
- 我 饿 死了。It could be read as 'hungry to death' I'm so hungry!
- 他 难看 死了。It could be read as 'ugly to death' He's so ugly!
- 你 胖 死了!It could be read as 'fat to death' You're so fat!
- 热 死了!It could be read as 'hot to death' It's so hot!
- 这里 的 东西 贵 死了。It could be read as 'expensive to death' The things here are so expensive!
- 冷 死了。It could be read as 'cold to death' It's so cold!
- 今天 累 死了。It could be read as 'tired to death' I'm so tired today!
- 我 快 忙 死了。It could be read as 'busy to death' I'm so busy!
- 急 死了。It could be read as 'anxious to death' I'm so anxious!
- 你 慢 死了。It could be read as 'slow to death' You're so slow!
None of these sentences involves someone actually dying. As with "to death" in English, this structure simply intensifies the adjective. Notice how these are awkward to translate into English - 死了 is a lot more versatile than "to death".