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 sassy 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. Occasionally you will see this 的 (de) omitted, but note that if the adjective has two characters (e.g. 漂亮 (piàoliang) or 高兴 (gāoxìng)), the 的 (de) is generally required.

Examples

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

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Category:A2 grammar points