Modifying nouns with adjective + "de"

One of the best ways to use the common character 的 (de) is to spice up your nouns with adjectives. By using 的 (de), we can connect descriptive adjectives to otherwise boring nouns.

With a noun

Structure

A very common way to modify nouns is to attach an adjective to them using 的 (de).

Adj. + 的 + Noun

This structure comes up extremely frequently and is an easy way to attribute features to nouns. Note that if the adjective has two characters (e.g. 漂亮 (piàoliang) or 高兴 (gāoxìng)), the 的 (de) is generally required.

Examples

• 漂亮 的 女孩儿 piàoliang de nǚháirBeautiful girl.
• 辣 的 菜 là de cài Spicy food.
• 可爱 的 宝宝 kě'ài de bǎobǎoA cute baby.
• 我 喜欢 新鲜 的 果汁 。 Wǒ xǐhuan xīnxiān de guǒzhī. I like fresh fruit juice.
• 他 常常 买 便宜 的 东西。 Tā cháng chāng mǎi piányi de dōngxi. He often buys cheap stuff.

Without a noun

Structure

In some cases, it is possible to drop the noun altogether, and just use the adjective + 的 (de). This is another example of the uses of "shi... de", where the 是 (shì) is present because it is connecting to a noun, and the 的 (de) is taking the place of the noun. For this usage to work, there already has to be context, so that the listener can understand what the phrase is actually referring to. Without context, there would be no way to know what the 的 (de) meant. Often, this construction can mean "one," as in "the blue one", or as something like "mine" or "Sarah's" if the noun that precedes it possesses the noun that is being dropped. Be careful though, if there is only going to be an adjective (without a 的 (de) and an implied noun) you can't use 是 (shì). In that case, you would have to use 很 (hěn).

Examples

• A: 奶奶 喜欢 吃 什么 东西 ？Nǐ yào nǎ gè qìqiú?What food does grandma like?
• B: 甜 的 。 Tián de. Sweet food.

• A:你 喜欢 哪 种 女孩？ Nǐ xǐhuan nǎ zhǒng nǚháizi?What kind of girls do you like?
• B: 年轻 漂亮 的 。Piàoliang de. Young and pretty ones.

• A: 你 想 吃 什么 的 饼干 ？ Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme bǐnggān?What cookie do you want to eat?
• B: 咸 的。 Xián de. Salty ones.

• A: 你 喜欢 喝 哪 个 国家 的 啤酒 ？ Nǐ xǐhuan hē nǎ gè guójiā de píjiǔ? Which country's beer do you like to drink?
• B: 德国 的 。 Déguó de. Germany's.

See also

• Modifying nouns with phrase + de
• Expressing possession

Sources and further reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 70-1) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (p. 37) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 191, 233) →buy
• Yufa! (pp. 37) →buy