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.
• 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.
• 我们 都 觉得 这个 人 挺 讨厌 的 。You don't think he's quite handsome?

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。I quite like this job.
• 孩子们 都挺 想 你 的 。The kids all miss you a lot.
• 你 不是挺爱 他的吗？为什么 要 分手？Don't you love him a lot? Why do you want to break up?

Sources and further reading

Books

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

Websites

• [1]
• [2]