Making "-ize" and "-ify" verbs with "hua"

The suffix -化 (-huà) can be added to the end of many Chinese words to make them into verbs, the equivalent of "-ize" or "-ify" in English.

Structure

You can take some Chinese nouns and adjectives and add a -化 to the end of them to "-ize" or "-ify" them. Basically, -化 takes the noun or adjective and makes it into a verb. One example of how we do that in English is to take the adjective "modern" and add "-ize" to turn it into the verb "modernize." Most of the time, the Chinese words that -化 is added to are two-character words.

Noun / Adj. + 化

Examples

The following is a short list of -化 words and sentences. Note that while the suffix -化 most often corresponds to "-ize" or "-ify" in English, these are not the only options in English. (Ah, you gotta love the endless variety of the English language!)

With a Noun

• 中国化、美国化、个性化、数字化、城市化、两极化、边缘化Zhōngguó-huà, Měiguó-huà, gèxìng-huà, shùzì-huà, chéngshì-huà, liǎngjí-huà, biānyuán-huàsinicize/Chinese-ify, Americanize, personalize, digitize, urbanize, polarize, marginalize
• 我们 将 革命化 整个 行业 。Wǒmen jiāng gémìng-huà zhěnggè hángyè.We will revolutionize the entire industry.
• KFC 的 中国 本土化 经营 做 得 非常 成功。KFC de Zhōngguó běntǔ-huà jīngyíng zuò de fēicháng chénggōng.KFC's Chinese localization has been implemented very successfully.
• 邓小平 提出了 四 个 现代化：工业现代化、农业现代化、国防现代化、科学技术现代化。Dèng Xiǎopíng tíchūle Sì Gè Xiàndài-huà: Gōngyè xiàndài-huà, nóngyè xiàndàihuà, guófáng xiàndài-huà, kēxué jìshù xiàndài-huà.Deng Xiaoping set forth the Four Modernizations: industrial modernization, agricultural modernization, national defense modernization, and scientific technology modernization.
• 现在 我们 公司 的工作 流程 和 人事 管理 已经 初步 制度化 了。Xiànzài wǒmen gōngsī de gōngzuò liúchéng hé rénshì guǎnlǐ yǐjīng chūbù zhìdùhuà le.These days our company's workflows and HR management have already started to be systematized.

With an Adjective

• 美化、绿化、软化、现代化、自然化、多元化měihuà, lǜhuà, ruǎnhuà, xiàndài-huà, zìrán-huà, duōyuán-huàbeautify, "greenify", soften, modernize, naturalize. diversify
• 你 不要 把 真相 浪漫化 ！Nǐ bùyào bǎ zhēnxiàng làngmàn-huà!Don't romanticize the truth!
• 你 应该 让 黄油 软化，然后 跟 面包 一起 吃。Nǐ yīnggāi ràng huángyóu ruǎnhuà, ránhòu gēn miànbāo yīqǐ chī.You should allow the butter to soften, then eat it with bread.
• 我们 保护 环境 是 为了 美化 我们 的 城市。Wǒmen bǎohù huánjìng shì wèile měihuà wǒmen de chéngshì.We protect the environment in order to beautify our city.
• 每年 我们 的 绿化 面积 都 在 扩大。Měinián wǒmen de lǜhuà miànjī dōu zài kuòdà.Every year our green[ified] area is expanding.

From Verb to Noun

Part of speech can be quite fluid in Chinese, and using the suffix -化 to change a noun or an adjective into a verb does not mean that verb can't also be used as a noun! So keep in mind that -化 can be not only "-ize" and "-ify," but also "-ization" and "-ification."

• 个性化gèxìng-huàpersonalize, personalization
• 现代化xiàndài-huàmodernize, modernization
• 美化měihuàbeautify, beautification

Sources and further reading

Books

• 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (pp. 68) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy
• Contemporary Chinese 4 (当代中文4) (pp. 17) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Short-term Spoken Chinese: Intermediate (汉语口语速成中级篇) (pp. 90) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

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