Superlative "zui"

The most common way to form a superlative (best, worst, fattest, most complex, etc.) in Chinese is to use 最 (zuì) before an adjective.

最 with Adjectives

Structure

The structure is:

最 + Adjective

And now you have the superlative form of the adjective. Unlike in English, this structure is consistent for all adjectives in Chinese. The inconsistencies in English sometimes confuse beginners, so note in the examples below how to say "best," "worst," "least," and "most" (meaning "greatest number").

Examples

• 他 最 小 。 Tā zuì xiǎo. He is the youngest.
• 他 最 笨 。 Tā zuì bèn. He is the dumbest.
• 你 最 胖 。 Nǐ zuì pàng. You are the fattest.
• 我 最 漂亮 。 Wǒ zuì piàoliang. I am the prettiest.
• 我 的 朋友 最 好 。 Wǒ de péngyǒu zuì hǎo. My friends are the best.
• 你 的 姐姐 最 聪明 。 Nǐ de jiějie zuì cōngming. Your sister is the cleverest.
• 汉语 最 难 。 Hànyǔ zuì nán. The Chinese language is the most difficult.
• 这 种 事 最 麻烦 。 Zhè zhǒng shì zuì máfan. These kind of things are the most troublesome.
• 我 的 朋友 最 多 。 Wǒ de péngyǒu zuì duō. I have the most friends.
• 我 的 钱 最 少 。 Wǒ de qián zuì shǎo. I have the least amount of money.
• 我 的 男朋友 最 有钱 。 Wǒ de nánpéngyou zuì yǒuqián. My boyfriend has the most money.
• 这 种 啤酒 最 好喝 。 Zhè zhǒng píjiǔ zuì hǎohē. This beer is the best tasting.

Optional 了

Occasionally you'll also see a 了 (le) added after the adjective. This simply adds emphasis to the "-est."

Structure

最 + Adjective (+ 了)

Examples

• 他 最 聪明 了 。 (This 了 is optional)Tā zuì cōngming le. He is the smartest.
• 你 最 瘦 了 。 (This 了 is optional)Nǐ zuì shòu le. You are the skinniest.
• 我 最 高 了 。 (This 了 is optional)Wǒ zuì gāo le. I am the tallest.
• 他 的 女朋友 最 漂亮 了 。 (This 了 is optional)Tā de nǚpéngyou zuì piàoliang le. His girlfriend is the most beautiful.
• 你 的 老师 最 好 了 。 (This 了 is optional)Nǐ de lǎoshī zuì hǎo le. Your teacher is the best.
• 我 的 妈妈 最 年轻 了 。 (This 了 is optional)Wǒ de māma zuì niánqīng le. My mother is the youngest.
• 你 的 中文 最 差 了 。 (This 了 is optional)Nǐ de Zhōngwén zuì chā le. Your Chinese is the worst.
• 我 的 中国 朋友 最 热情 了 。 (This 了 is optional)Wǒ de Zhōngguó péngyǒu zuì rèqíng le. My Chinese friend is the most enthusiastic.
• 他 的 学生 最 认真 了 。 (This 了 is optional)Tā de xuéshēng zuì rènzhēn le. His student is the most serious.
• 黄山 的 风景 最 美 了 。 (This 了 is optional)Huángshān de fēngjǐng zuì měi le. Huang Mountain's landscape is the most beautiful.

最 with Psychological Verbs

最 (zuì) can also come before psychological verbs, to express what one "most likes," "most hates," etc. It won't make sense if you try to use 最 (zuì) with non-psychological verbs, though.

Structure

The structure is:

最 + [Psychological Verb] (+ 了)

Examples

• 我 最 喜欢 你 了 ！ I like you the best!
• 她 最 讨厌 抽烟 的 男人 。 She most hates men that smoke.
• 他 最 想 去 的 地方 是 日本 。 The place I most want to go is Japan.
• 我 最 怕 猫 。I most fear cats.

See also

• Expressing "excessively" with tai
• Positive adjectives with "-ji le"
• Expressing "rather" with "bijiao"

Sources and further reading

Books

• New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 15-6) →buy
• Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 571-4) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (p. 344) →buy