Adjectives with "name" and "zheme"

In English, the words "that" and "so" are often used to increase the extent of an adjective (ex. "he is so tall" or "this food is so good"). In Chinese, 那么 (nàme) and 这么 (zhème) serve the same function.

Structure

All you have to do to use this grammar structure is put the 那么 or 这么 in front of the adjective.

Subject + 那么 / 这么 + Adjective

Examples

• 你 说得 这么 快，我 怎么 能 听懂？ Nǐ shuōde zhème kuài, wǒ zěnme néng tīngdǒng ? You speak "so" fast.How can I understand you?
• 你 怎么 变得 这么 漂亮！Nǐ zěnme biànde zhème piàoliang!How can you be "so" beautiful!
• 你 那么 有钱 ，为什么 还 工作 ？ Nǐ nàme yǒuqián, wèishénmen háiyào gōngzuò. You are "so" rich.Why are you still working?
• 雨 这么 大，明天 再去 吧。 Yǔ zhème dà, míngtiān zài qù ba. It's raining so heavily.How about go tomorrow?
• 中国人口 这么 多 ，当然 会有 很多 社会 问题。 zhōngguórén zhème duō, dāngrán huìyǒu hěnduō shèhuì wèntí. China has such a big population.Of course there are many social problems.

When to use which one

You might be thinking "那 and 这 have different meanings. How can they be used the same way?" Well, there are some differences. "这么" is used when the thing you are talking about is close by, when you would say "this" or "这个". On the other hand, if the object is far away, you would use "那么". Furthermore, this distance doesn't have to be physical, it can also refer to time, so you would use "那么" with things like "yesterday" or "tomorrow".

See also

• The "zui" superlative
• Expressing "excessively" with "tai"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Short-term Spoken Chinese: Elementary (汉语口语速成基础篇) (pp. 15) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 71 - 2) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 103) →buy