Difference between revisions of "Modifying nouns with adjective + "de""

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<li><span class="speaker">A:</span> 奶奶 喜欢 什么 颜色 的 衣服 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǎinai xǐhuan chī shénme yàng de dōngxi?</span><span class="trans">What food does grandma like to eat?</span></li>
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<li><span class="speaker">A:</span> 小孩儿 喜欢 什么 东西 ?<span class="pinyin">xiǎohár xǐhuan chī shénme dōngxi?</span><span class="trans">What food do children like to eat?</span></li>
 
<li><span class="speaker">B:</span> <em>甜 的</em> 。<span class="pinyin"> <em> Tián de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">Sweet food.</span></li>
 
<li><span class="speaker">B:</span> <em>甜 的</em> 。<span class="pinyin"> <em> Tián de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">Sweet food.</span></li>
 
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<li><span class="speaker">A:</span> 你 喜欢 哪 个 国家 的 啤酒 ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ xǐhuan hē nǎ gè guójiā de píjiǔ?</span> <span class="trans">Which country's beer do you like to drink?</span></li>
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<li><span class="speaker">A:</span> 你 冷 水 还是 热 水? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ xǐhuan hē lěng
<li><span class="speaker">B:</span> <em>德国 的</em> 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Déguó de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">Germany's.</span></li>
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shuǐ háishì rè shuǐ ?</span> <span class="trans">Do you want to drink cold or hot water?</span></li>
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<li><span class="speaker">B:</span> <em>的</em> 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>lěng de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">Cold.</span></li>
 
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<li><span class="speaker">A:</span>  你 喜欢 教 什么样 的 学生? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ xǐhuan jiāo shénme yàng de xuéshēng?</span><span class="trans">What kind of students do you like to teach?</span></li>
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<li><span class="speaker">A:</span>  你 喜欢 吃 什么 菜? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ xǐhuan chī shénme cài?</span><span class="trans">Which foods do you not like to eat?</span></li>
<li><span class="speaker">B:</span> <em>认真 的 </em>。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Rènzhēn  de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">Dedicated ones.</span></li>
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<li><span class="speaker">B:</span> <em>的 </em>。 <span class="pinyin"><em>de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">Dedicated ones.</span></li>
 
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Revision as of 08:58, 4 February 2016

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.

With a noun

Structure

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

Adj. + 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

  • 漂亮 的 女孩儿 piàoliang de nǚháirBeautiful girl.
  • 辣 的là de cài Spicy food.
  • 可爱 的 宝宝 kě'ài de bǎobǎoA cute baby.
  • 我 喜欢 新鲜 的 果汁 。 Wǒ xǐhuan xīnxiān de guǒzhī. I like fresh fruit juice.
  • 他 常常 买 便宜 的 东西。 Tā chángcháng mǎi piányi de dōngxi. He often buys cheap stuff.


Without a noun

Structure

In some cases, it is possible to drop the noun from the pattern, and just use the adjective + 的 (de). This is kind of like saying "the big one" or "the red one" in English. In Chinese the 的 (de) serves the same purpose as the English word "one." By using this pattern, you can avoid repeating the same noun over and over again unnecessarily. Just be sure the other person is already clear which "one" you're referring to when using this pattern!

Adj. + 的

Examples

  • A: 小孩儿 喜欢 吃 什么 东西 ?xiǎohár xǐhuan chī shénme dōngxi?What food do children like to eat?
  • B: 甜 的 Tián de. Sweet food.
  • A:你 喜欢 哪 种 女孩? Nǐ xǐhuan nǎ zhǒng nǚhái?What kind of girls do you like?
  • B: 漂亮 的 Piàoliang de. Pretty ones.
  • A: 你 要 喝 冷 水 还是 热 水? Nǐ xǐhuan hē lěng shuǐ háishì rè shuǐ ? Do you want to drink cold or hot water?
  • B: 冷 的lěng de. Cold.
  • A: 你想 找 什么样 的 男朋友? Nǐ xiǎng zhǎo shénmeyàng de nánpéngyou? What kind of boyfriend do you want to find?
  • B: 有钱 的Yǒuqián de. A rich one.
  • A: 你 不 喜欢 吃 什么 菜? Nǐ xǐhuan chī shénme cài?Which foods do you not like to eat?
  • B: 辣 的 là de. Dedicated ones.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books