Difference between revisions of "Expressing possession with "de""

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In Chinese, possession is marked with the particle 的 (de), placed after the associated noun or noun phrase. This particle works in a similar way to ''''s''' (apostrophe "s") in English, but is used much more widely. This article highlights one of its simplest and most common usages.
 
In Chinese, possession is marked with the particle 的 (de), placed after the associated noun or noun phrase. This particle works in a similar way to ''''s''' (apostrophe "s") in English, but is used much more widely. This article highlights one of its simplest and most common usages.
  
== Structure ==
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=== Structure ===
  
 
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The structure is super simple.  It will take a bit of time before you realize how truly universal this pattern is.  It doesn't matter whether the "Noun 1" is a person, place, or thing, or even if it's a pronoun (like "he," "she," or "it").  The structure stays consistent.
 
The structure is super simple.  It will take a bit of time before you realize how truly universal this pattern is.  It doesn't matter whether the "Noun 1" is a person, place, or thing, or even if it's a pronoun (like "he," "she," or "it").  The structure stays consistent.
  
== Examples ==
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=== Examples ===
  
 
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Revision as of 05:41, 3 July 2015

In Chinese, possession is marked with the particle 的 (de), placed after the associated noun or noun phrase. This particle works in a similar way to 's (apostrophe "s") in English, but is used much more widely. This article highlights one of its simplest and most common usages.

Structure

Noun 1 + 的 + Noun 2

This means "Noun 1's Noun 2" (where Noun 2 belongs to Noun 1).

The structure is super simple. It will take a bit of time before you realize how truly universal this pattern is. It doesn't matter whether the "Noun 1" is a person, place, or thing, or even if it's a pronoun (like "he," "she," or "it"). The structure stays consistent.

Examples

  • 老师 de lǎoshīmy teacher
  • 啤酒 de píjiǔyour beer
  • de shūhis book
  • 他们 东西 tāmen de dōngxītheir stuff
  • 小李 手机 xiǎo Lǐ de shǒujīXiao Li's cell phone
  • 我们 wǒmen de cháour tea
  • 我 家 小狗wǒjiā de xiǎo gǒumy family's puppy
  • 公司 老板gōngsī de lǎobǎnthe company's boss
  • 上海 美女Shànghǎi de měinǚShanghai's beautiful women
  • 美女 朋友měinǚ de péngyǒuthe beautiful woman's friend

See also

Sources and further reading