Expressing "simply" with "jianzhi"
Revision as of 04:17, 8 November 2011 by Jonathan.pope (talk | contribs)
简直(jiǎn zhí) is similar to simply or completely in English, and adds a tone of amazement on the part of the speaker. It can be used to modify adjectives, verbs and nouns. However, it can be a little tricky to use, as it is used differently with different words.
When modifying nouns, it is necessary to add a measure word before the noun.
For example:
- 我 崩溃, 他 简直 是 个 白痴！
- 他 太 瘦 了，简直 是 一 根 电线杆。
简直can also modify adjectives.
- 你 的 男 朋友 简直（是）太 帅 了，小心 别 的 女生 跟 你 抢！
- 中国 的 高速 铁路 修建 得 简直 太 快 了，难怪 有 安全 问题！
Note that although we can say something is for example "simply beautiful", 简直 cannot be followed directly by an unmodified adjective.
- 她 简直 漂亮
- 她 简直很漂亮
- 她 简直 太 漂亮 了
- 她 简直 漂亮 极 了
When modifying verbs, 简直 is used with 在, to form the present continuous tense. An example of this in English would be: "He's simply lying to you".
Here are some Chinese examples:
- 三星 的 智能 手机 简直 在 模仿 iphone.
- 他 简直 连 家人 都 骗 ，太 可恶 了。
Sources and further reading
Books
- Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) pp.134-136
- Boya Chinese Upper Intermediate 1 (博雅汉语中级冲刺篇) pp.115
