A Guide to Using Chinese Adjectives

In this post we’ll take a look at Chinese adjectives. First, we’ll start by seeing some examples of Chinese adjectives and seeing how they’re used in phrases and sentences. Next, we’ll move on to adjectives used right before a noun to describe it. Here we’ll talk about constructions with and without 的 de. After that we’ll turn to Chinese adjectives used in sentences joined to a subject with a linker like 很 hěn. Finally, we’ll look at how to negate Chinese adjectives.

Chinese Adjectives: Meanings & Use

In Chinese, adjectives are called 形容词 xíngróngcí, which literally means descriptive word.  That’s because adjectives are words that describe a quality, state, or characteristic of a noun or pronoun.  Here are some examples of common Chinese adjectives.

• 大 dà big
• 小 xiǎo small
• 漂亮 piàoliang beautiful
• 高兴 gāoxìng happy
• 冷 lěng cold

Chinese adjectives function the same as English adjectives, or adjectives in any language: they give descriptions of nouns or pronouns. But Chinese adjectives have unique grammatical behavior, so that’s what we’ll focus on in this post. We’ll see adjective used in two types of constructions:

• Attributive Adjectives: adjectives that come right before a noun in a phrase, for example a big house in English. This can be part of a longer sentence, for example: They live in [a big house].
• Predicate Adjectives: adjectives that come after be in English, in full sentences, for example: The house is big.

Chinese Adjectives in Phrases: Attributive Use

Chinese attributive adjectives come before nouns, just like in English. There’s only one grammatical wrinkle to keep in mind. In many cases, you need to link the adjective to the noun with the linking element 的 de.

Simple Attributive Adjectives: No 的 de

Let’s start with the construction without the linker 的 de. If the adjective is one-syllable, simple, and defines some very basic quality of the noun, the adjective comes right before the noun, without a linker.

• 好书
  hǎo shū
  good book, good books
• 老朋友
  lǎo péngyou
  old friend, long-time friend
• 硬床
  yìng chuáng
  a hard bed
• 大房子
  dà fángzi
  a big house

Many examples like this can be thought of as compound nouns; the relationship between the adjective and the noun is very basic.

• 大人
  dà rén
  adult (“big person”)
• 小狗
  xiǎo gǒu
  puppy (“small dog”)
• 黑板
  hēibǎn
  blackboard

These simple adjective phrases can be used in longer, complete sentences.

• 我们有一只小狗。
  Wǒmen yǒu yì zhī xiǎo gǒu.
  We have a puppy.
• 他们住在大房子里。
  Tāmen zhù zài dà fángzi lǐ.
  They live in a big house.
• 我喜欢睡硬床。
  Wǒ xǐhuan shuì yìng chuáng.
  I like sleeping on a firm bed.

Attributive Adjectives with 的 de

In cases where the adjective is longer than one syllable and the description is more specific, you need to use the linker 的 de between the adjective and the noun in the structure:

[ADJECTIVE] + 的 de + [NOUN]

• 漂亮的衣服
  piàoliang de yīfu
  beautiful clothes
• 很大的房子
  hěn dà de fángzi
  a very big house
• 很高的女人
  hěn gāo de nǚrén
  a very tall woman

Notice that if you modify a mono-syllabic adjective with something like 很 hěn (very), this creates a longer adjective phrase that needs to use 的 de.

• 大房子
  dà fángzi
  a big house
• 很大的房子
  hěn dà de fángzi
  a very big house

Let’s see some examples of these phrases with attributive adjectives used in complete sentences.

• 他们住在一个很大的房子里。
  Tāmen zhù zài yí gè hěn dà de fángzi lǐ.
  They live in a very big house.
• 她总是穿漂亮的衣服。
  Tā zǒngshì chuān piàoliang de yīfu.
  She always wears beautiful clothes.
• 我喜欢安静的咖啡馆。
  Wǒ xǐhuan ānjìng de kāfēiguǎn.
  I like quiet cafés.

Chinese Adjectives in Sentences: Predicative Use

Now let’s turn to the predicative use of adjectives. Remember that attributive adjectives are in the same phrase as the noun they describe, as in a big house, the good restaurant, our adorable puppy. Predicative adjectives – in English at least – are linked to the noun with the verb be: The house is big. This restaurant is good. Our puppy is adorable.

Predicate Adjectives with 很 hěn

In Chinese, you do not use the verb 是 shì (be) with adjectives. Instead, you use the linking element 很 hěn.

• 她很漂亮。
  Tā hěn piàoliang.
  She is beautiful.
• 天气很冷。
  Tiānqì hěn lěng.
  The weather is cold.

As you’ve seen, 很 hěn can mean very, as in 很大的房子 hěn dà de fángzi (a very big house). But when it’s used to link predicate adjectives to subjects, it really doesn’t have a meaning. You can simply think of it as serving the same linking function as is or are in English.

• 这个男人很矮。
  Zhè gè nán rén hěn ǎi.
  The man is short.
• 他很高。
  Tā hěn gāo.
  He is tall.
• 这本书很有意思。
  Zhè běn shū hěn yǒu yìsi.
  This book is interesting.

Predicate Adjectives with Other Intensifiers

You can use linking elements other than 很 hěn in Chinese adjectival sentences. These will carry meaning like very, so they make the adjective more intense. A few common examples are 非常 fēicháng (very, extremely), 真 zhen (really), and 特别 tèbié (especially).

• 他非常忙。
  Tā fēicháng máng.
  He is very/extremely busy.
• 这汤真好喝。
  Zhè tāng zhēn hǎo hē.
  This soup is really delicious.
• 天气特别冷。
  Tiānqì tèbié lěng.
  The weather is especially cold.

Result or Degree Adjective Constructions with 得 de

There is a common predicate adjective construction that doesn’t use a linker like 很 hěn, but instead includes the linker 得 de that you saw with attributive adjectives. The structure is:

[SUBJECT] + [ADJECTIVE] + 的 de + [RESULT/DEGREE PHRASE]

This construction is how you express things like so happy (that) I could jump. Here are some examples.

• 她高兴得跳起来。
  Tā gāoxìng de tiào qǐlái.
  She was so happy that she jumped.
• 他累得说不出话。
  Tā lèi de shuō bù chū huà.
  He was so tired he couldn’t speak.
• 孩子吓得哭了。
  Háizi xià de kū le.
  The child was so frightened that they started crying.

Negating Chinese Adjectives

Chinese negates adjectives using the negative 不 bù. The structure is:

不 bù + [ADJECTIVE]

• 不高 bù gāo (not tall)
• 不冷 bù lěng (not cold)

Let’s see some examples in sentences.

• 这件衣服不贵。
  Zhè jiàn yīfu bù guì.
  This piece of clothing is not expensive.
• 我今天不高兴。
  Wǒ jīntiān bù gāoxìng.
  I’m not happy today.

Negating Descriptive Phrases with 有 yǒu

Just remember that there are some common descriptive phrases in Chinese that look like adjectives but are grammatically composed of 有yǒu (have) + noun. Some common examples are: 有意思 yǒu yìsi (to be interesting), 有名 yǒu míng (to be famous), 有味道 yǒu wèidào (to be flavorful, tasty), 有钱 yǒu qián (to be wealthy, to have money), 有空 yǒu kòng (to be free, to have time), 有希望 yǒu xīwàng (to be promising), and 有用 yǒu yòng (to be useful).

Since these expressions use 有 yǒu (have), they are negated with 没有 méiyǒu (not have).

• 这本书很有意思。
  Zhè běn shū hěn yǒu yìsi.
  This book is very interesting.
• 这本书没有意思。
  Zhè běn shū méiyǒu yìsi.
  This book is not interesting.

• 这汤很有味道。
  Zhè tāng hěn yǒu wèidào.
  This soup is tasty.
• 这汤没有味道。
  Zhè tāng méiyǒu wèidào.
  This soup has no flavor.

• 我明天有空。
  Wǒ míngtiān yǒu kòng.
  I’m free tomorrow.
• 我今天没有空。
  Wǒ jīntiān méiyǒu kòng.
  I’m not free today.

Softer Negation with 不太 bù tài

You can create a softened negation with 不太 bù tài, which is like not really or not very.

• 我不太累。
  Wǒ bù tài lèi.
  I’m not very tired.
• 他不太聪明。
  Tā bù tài cōngmíng.
  He’s not very smart. (gentle)

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