Modifying nouns with adjective + "de"
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Keywords
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.
Contents
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. Occasionally you will see this 的 (de) omitted, but 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 beautiful girl
- 辣 的 菜 spicy food
- 可爱 的 宝宝 a cute baby
- 我 喜欢 新鲜 的 果汁 。 I like fresh fruit juice.
- 他 常常 买 便宜 的 东西。 He often buys cheap stuff.
Without a Noun
Structure
In some cases, it is possible to drop the noun from the pattern, and just use the adjective + 的 (de). This is kind of like saying "the big one" or "the red one" in English. In Chinese the 的 (de) serves the same purpose as the English word "one." By using this pattern, you can avoid repeating the same noun over and over again unnecessarily. Just be sure the other person is already clear which "one" you're referring to when using this pattern!
Adj. + 的
Examples
- A: 孩子 喜欢 吃 什么 东西 ？What food do children like to eat?
- B: 甜 的 。 Sweet food.
- A: 你 喜欢 哪 种 女孩？What kind of girls do you like?
- B: 漂亮 的。 Pretty ones.
- A: 你 要 喝 冷 水 还是 热 水？ Do you want to drink cold or hot water?
- B: 冷 的。 Cold.
- A: 你想 找 什么样 的 男朋友？ What kind of boyfriend do you want to find?
- B: 有钱 的。 A rich one.
- A: 你 不 喜欢 吃 什么 菜？Which foods do you not like to eat?
- B: 辣 的。 Spicy ones.
See also
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
