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.

Structure with the noun

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

Adjective + 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

• 红 色 的 气球 A red balloon.
• 漂亮 的 女孩儿 Beautiful girl.
• 好 看 的 衣服 Beautiful clothes.
• 好 喝 的 啤酒 Great-tasting beer.
• 可爱 的 宝宝 A cute baby.
• 我 喜欢 新鲜 的 果汁 。 Wǒ xǐhuan xīn xiān de guǒzhī. I like fresh fruit juice.
• 我 有 一 个 很 好 的 老师 。 Wǒ yǒu yī gè hěn hǎo de lǎoshī. I have a very good teacher.
• 爸爸 给 了 我 一 个 很 旧 的 手机 。 Bàba gěi le wǒ yī gè hěn jiù de shǒujī. My dad gave me a very old phone.
• 我 家 有 一 只 白 色 的 小狗 。 Wǒ jiā yǒu yī zhǐ bái sè de xiǎogǒu. My family has a pretty puppy.

Structure Without the noun

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 (shì).

Examples

• A: 你 要 哪 个 气球 ？ B:我 要 那 个 红色 的 。 A: Nǐ yào nǎ gè qìqiú? Wǒ yào nà gè hóngsè de. A: Which balloon do you want? B: I want that red one.
• A: 你 喜欢 哪 种 女孩子 ？ B: 漂亮的 。 A: Nǐ xǐhuan nǎ zhǒng nǚháizǐ? B: piāoliàngde. A: What kind of girls do you like? B: Pretty ones.
• A: 你 想 吃 什么 饼干 ？ B: 甜的。 A: Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme bǐng gān? B: tiánde. A: What cookie do you want to eat? B: A sweet one.
• A: 你 喜欢 喝 哪 个 国家 的 啤酒 ？ B: 德国 的 。 A: Nǐ xǐhuan hē nǎ gè guójiā de píjiǔ? B: DéGuó de. A: Which country's beer do you like to drink? B: 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