Expressing "quite" with "ting"

挺 (tǐng) can be used before an adjective to mean "quite," or "rather," or "pretty," as in "pretty good."

Used with Adjectives Only

Using 挺 with an adjective means "quite."

Structure

挺 + Adj. + 的

Examples

• 老师 ，你 挺 年轻 的 。Lǎoshī, nǐ tǐng niánqīng de.Teacher, you're quite young.
• 你 男朋友 挺 帅 的 。Nǐ nánpéngyou tǐng shuài de.Your boyfriend is quite handsome.
• 最近 大家 都 挺 忙 的 。Zuìjìn dàjiā dōu tǐng máng de.We've all been quite busy lately.
• 这 件 衣服 大小 挺 合适 的 。Zhè jiàn yīfu dàxiǎo tǐng héshì de.The size of this piece of clothes is quite suitable.
• 大 城市 的 工作 压力 挺 大 的 。Dà chéngshì de gōngzuò yālì tǐng dà de.Working pressure in big cities are quite high.
• 我们 都 觉得 这个 人 挺 讨厌 的 。Wǒmen dōu juéde zhège rén tǐng tǎoyàn de.We all think he's quite annoying.
• 他们 家 挺 有钱 的 ，但是 他 不 像 有钱 人 。Tāmen jiā tǐng yǒuqián de, dànshì tā bù xiàng yǒuqiánrén.Their family is quite rich, but he doesn't like like a rich person.

Used with Phycological Verb

In English, we're limited on what words come after the word "quite." Though Chinese is open to take on verbs after 挺, these verbs are mostly psychological verbs.

Structure

挺 + [Phycological Verb] + Obj. + 的

Examples

• 我 挺 喜欢 这 份 工作 的 。Wǒ tǐng xǐhuan zhè fèn gōngzuò de.I quite like this job.
• 孩子们 都挺 想 你 的 。Háizi men dōu tǐng xiǎng nǐ de.The kids all miss you a lot.
• 你 不是挺爱 他的吗？为什么 要 分手 ？Nǐ bù shì tǐng ài tā de ma? Wèishénme yào fēnshǒu?Don't you love him a lot? Why do you want to break up?

See also

• Expressing "excessively" with "tai"
• Expressing "rather" with "bijiao"
• Positive adjectives with "-ji le"
• Expressing "a little too" with "you dian"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (pp. 220) →buy