Chinese Grammar: How To Use Adjectives
Written byZoe Mei
Adjectives modify nouns by describing them.
Chinese adjectives are in some ways different to English adjectives, in part because you can use them as verbs.
Adjectives - 形容詞 - Xíngróngcí
Adjectives are one of the first and most important topics you'll cover when learning Mandarin Chinese. After all, you'll need to describe the world around you.
Examples in Chinese::
| English | Chinese Characters | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| An ugly rat | 一個醜陋的老鼠 | Yīgè chǒulòu de lǎoshǔ |
| A green house | 一個綠色的房子 | Yīgè lǜsè de fángzi |
| A fat woman | 一個胖女人 | Yīgè pàng nǚrén |
Possessive Adjectives
In order to show possession, one may add "de" to personal pronouns as indicated below.
| English | Chinese Characters | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| His | 他的 | Tā de: |
| My | 我 | Wǒ de : |
| Your | 你的 | Nǐ de: |
| Theirs | 他們的 | Tāmen de: |
| Ours | 我們的 | Wǒmen de: |
| Her | 他的 | Tā de : |
| Mine | 我 | Wǒ de: |
| Yours | 你的 | Nǐ de : |
List of Adjectives in Chinese
| English | Chinese Characters | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Black | 黑色 | Hēisè |
| Blue | 藍 | Lán |
| Brown | 布朗 | Bùlǎng |
| Gray | 灰色 | Huīsè |
| Green | 綠 | Lǜ |
| Orange | 橙 | Chéng |
| Purple | 紫 | Zǐ |
| Red | 紅 | Hóng |
| White | 白 | Bái |
| Yellow | 黃河 | Huánghé |
| Sizes | 尺寸 | Chǐcùn |
| Big | 大 | Dà |
| Deep | 深 | Shēn |
| Long | 龍 | Lóng |
| Narrow | 窄 | Zhǎi |
| Short | 矮 | Ǎi |
| Small, little | 小，小 | Xiǎo, xiǎo |
| Tall | 高 | Gāo |
| Thick | 厚 | Hòu |
| Thin | 薄 | Báo |
| Wide | 寬 | Kuān |
| Shapes | 形狀 | Xíngzhuàng |
| Round | 回合 | Huíhé |
| Straight | 直 | Zhí |
| Square | 廣場 | Guǎngchǎng |
| Fat | 胖 | Pàng |
| Triangular | 三角形的 | Sānjiǎoxíng de |
| Old | 老 | Lǎo |
| Young | 年輕 | Niánqīng |
| Smart | 聰明 | Cōngmíng |
| Slow | 慢 | Màn |
| Fast | 快 | Kuài |
| Near | 近 | Jìn |
| Far | 遠 | Yuǎn |
| Good | 好 | Hǎo |
| Bad | 壞 | Huài |
| Pretty | 美 | Měi |
| Light | 輕 | Qīng |
| Dark | 暗 | Àn |
Examples:
My dad is eating.
我的爸爸在吃.
Wǒ de bà ba zài chī.
My mom's cooking.
我媽媽的烹飪.
Wǒ māmā de pēngrèn.
Your dog is dead.
你的狗死了.
Nǐ de gǒu sǐ le.
My table is broken.
我表壞了.
Wǒ de biǎo huài le.
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