Chinese Grammar: How To Use Adverbs
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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