Chinese Grammar: How To Use Adverbs
Written byZoe Mei
Adverbs are words that tell us when, how, why or where an action happens.
The adverbs in Mandarin Chinese are always before an adjective or a verb.
Note: In English, adverbs are usually formed by adding -ly to adjectives. In Chinese, many adverbs are formed from adjectives, simply by adding the suffix -de to adjectives.
| Slow - 慢 - Màn | Quick - 快 - Kuài | |
|---|---|---|
| English Adverbs | Slowly | Quickly |
| Chinese Adverbs | 慢 慢 地 | 快 地 |
| Pinyin Adverbs | Màn man de | Kuài de |
Adverbs of Time - 时间副词 - shí jiān fù cí
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| yesterday | 昨 天 | zuó tiān |
| today | 今 天 | jīn tiān |
| tomorrow | 明 天 | míng tiān |
| now | 现 在 | xiàn zài |
| then | 然 后 | rán hòu |
| later | 后 来 | hòu lái |
| tonight | 今 晚 | jīn wǎn |
| right now | 马 上 / 立 即 | mǎ shàng / lì jí |
| last night | 昨 晚 | zuó wǎn |
| this morning | 今 早 | jīn zǎo |
| next week | 下 周 | xià zhōu |
| already | 已 经 | yǐ jīng |
| recently | 最 近 | zuì jìn |
| lately | 近 来 | jìn lái |
| soon | 不 久 | bù jiǔ |
| immediately | 立 即 | lì jí |
| still | 仍 | réng |
| yet | 还 / 仍 然 / 尚 | hái or huán / réng rán / shàng |
| ago | 以 前 | yǐ qián |
Adverbs of Place - 地点副词 - dì diǎn fù cí
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| here | 这 里 | zhè lǐ |
| there | 那 里 | nà lǐ |
| over there | 在 那 边 | zài nà biān |
| everywhere | 到 处 | dào chù |
| anywhere | 任 何 地 方 | rèn hé de fāng |
| nowhere | 无 处 | wú chù |
| home | 在 家 / 回 家 | zài jiā / huí jiā |
| away | 离 开 / 走 开 | lí kāi /zǒu kāi |
| out | 出 外 / 在 外 | chū wài / zài wài |
| out | 向 外 / 离 去 | xiàng wài / lí qù |
Adverbs of Manner - 方式副词 - fāng shì fù cí
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| very | 很 / 非 常 | hěn / fēi cháng |
| quite | 相 当 | xiāng dāng |
| pretty | 相 当 / 颇 | xiāng dāng / pō |
| really | 真 正 地 / 确 实 地 | zhēn zhèng de / què shí de |
| fast | 快 速 地 / 迅 速 地 | kuài sù de / xùn sù de |
| well | 好 | hǎo / hào |
| hard | 努 力 地 | nǔ lì di / nǔ lì de |
| quickly | 很 快 | hěn kuài |
| slowly | 慢 慢 地 | màn màn de |
| carefully | 小 心 地 / 认 真 地 | xiǎo xīn dì / rèn zhēn de |
| hardly | 几 乎 不 | jī hū bù |
| barely | 几 乎 不 | jī hū bù |
| mostly | 大 部 分 / 主 要 地 | dà bù fēn / zhǔ yào de |
| almost | 几 乎 | jī hū |
| absolutely | 绝 对 | jué duì |
| together | 一 起 | yī qǐ |
| alone | 单 | dān / chán |
Adverbs of Frequency - 频度副词 - pín dù fù cí
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| always | 总 是 | zǒng shì |
| frequently | 常 常 / 频 繁 地 | cháng cháng / pín fán de |
| frequently | 经 常 地 | jīng cháng de |
| usually | 通 常 / 平 常 | tōng cháng / píng cháng |
| sometimes | 有 时 | yǒu shí |
| occasionally | 偶 尔 | ǒu ěr |
| seldom | 很 少 | hěn shǎo |
| rarely | 很 少 | hěn shǎo |
| never | 从不 | cóng bù |
Examples:
I play soccer sometimes.
有 时 我 玩 足 球
Yǒu shí wǒ wán zúqiú
I go to school every day.
我 去 上 学 ， 每 天
Wǒ qù shàngxué, měi tiān
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