The structural particle "de" has three written forms in modern Chinese,
each with its own uses:
- 的 (de), most often used for modifying [nouns](noun "wikilink")
- 得 (de), most often used with [complements](complement "wikilink")
- 地 (de), most often used with [adverbial
phrases](adverbial_phrase "wikilink")
There is also a [modal particle
的](Using_"de"_(modal_particle) "wikilink") (de), not covered in this
grammar point.
的 (de) Before Nouns
--------------------
Before nouns, 的 (de) is used to mark **possession** or
**modification**. One way to think about 的 (de) is that it works like
apostrophe-"s" in English. Think of this one as the "possessive *de*" or
"noun-modifying *de*."
- 小李 的 房子 Xiǎo Lǐ de
fángziXiao Li's house
This comparison works very well for possession, as it shows how English
and Chinese handle possession in a similar way. Just remember that
Chinese uses this "possession" far more widely than English. Modifying,
describing qualities, and assigning attributes are all handled in the
same way as possession, by using 的 (de).
Another way to use 的 (de) is as an
[attributive](attributive "wikilink"). It's just a way of connecting
adjectives or other words with a noun. It gives us more information
about the noun, and the 的 (de) makes it clear that the extra
information is connected to the noun. Here's an example:
- 红色 的 自行车 hóngsè de
zìxíngchēred bicycle
Here 的 (de) is used to modify "bicycle" with the color "red." It
attributes the color "red" to the "bicycle."
### Structure
Although certainly not complete for all uses, this simple structure
should help as a general guideline:
的 + Noun
### Examples
- 我 的 手机wǒ de
shǒujīmy cell phone
- 我们 的 老师wǒmen de
lǎoshīour teacher
- 漂亮 的 衣服piàoliang de
yīfubeautiful clothes
- 热闹 的 酒吧 rènao de
jiǔbāa boisterous bar
- 我 女朋友 的 公司 wǒ nǚpéngyou
de gōngsīmy girlfriend's
company
For you nerdier learners, 的 (de) is known to the Chinese as 白勺的
(bái-sháo de) as it's composed of the characters 白 (bái) and 勺 (sháo).
得 (de) After Verbs
-------------------
This *de* is probably the trickiest to crack for English speakers as it
has no obvious equivalent in English. 得 (de) is used to construct
various kinds of [complements](complement "wikilink") and is usually
associated with verbs. You can think of it as the "complement *de*."
### Structure
Although certainly not complete for all uses, this simple structure
should help:
Verb + 得
### Examples
- 做 得 很 好 zuò de hěn
hǎodo very well
- 说 得 太 快 shuō de tài
kuàispeak too fast
- 玩 得 很 开心 wán de hěn
kāixīnplay very happily
- 开 得 很 快 kāi de hěn kuài
drive very fast
- 住 得 很 舒服 zhù de hěn
shūfu live very comfortably
For you nerdier learners, 得 (de) is known as 双人得 (shuāngrén de), as
the character component 彳 is often referred to as 双人 (shuāngrén), or
the "double person" component.
### Not an Adverb?
You might be wondering how the examples using 得 (de) above are
different from adverbs. That's actually a really good question, but it's
one that you should defer until later in your studies.
[Complements](Complement "wikilink") are a bit tricky, and you'll be
learning a lot more about them at the [intermediate
level](B1 "wikilink"), so be patient!
地 (de) Before Verbs
--------------------
地 (de) is used to turn [adjectives](adjective "wikilink") into
[adverbs](adverb "wikilink"), and can be thought of as equivalent to the
[suffix](suffix "wikilink") *-ly* in English. You could call it the
"adverb *de*" or "adverbial *de*," since it precedes
[verbs](verb "wikilink") like adverbs do.
### Structure
Although not complete for all uses, this simple structure should help:
Adj. + 地 + Verb
Note that it's the "adjective + 地 (de)" structure that makes the
adjective into an "adverb phrase" (called an
[adverbial](adverbial "wikilink")). If it's a straight-up adverb you're
using (instead of an adjective), then you don't need 地 (de) at all.
This pattern is also the least common of the three; you'll be using 的
(de) and 得 (de) a lot more in everyday communication than this one.
### Examples
- 生气 地 说 shēngqì de
shuōangrily say
- 开心 地 笑 kāixīn de
xiàohappily laugh
- 慢慢 地 走 mànmàn de zǒu
slowly walk
- 伤心 地 哭 shāngxīn de
kūsadly cry
- 认真 地 听 rènzhēn de
tīngcarefully listen
Again, you don't have to know this, but this 地 (de) is known in Chinese
as 土也地 (tǔ-yě de), as it's composed of the 土 (tǔ) component on the
left with a 也 (yě) on the right.
Using All Three "de"s
---------------------
This example is naturally going to be a little more difficult than the
ones above, since we're cramming all three usages into one sentence, but
you may find this useful.
- 今天 的 作业 你 做 得 不好，因为 你 没 认真
地 听课。Jīntiān de zuòyè nǐ
zuò de bù hǎo, yīnwèi nǐ méi rènzhēn de
tīngkè.You didn't do today's homework
well because you didn't listen attentively in class.
Sources and further reading
---------------------------
### Books
- [A Practical Chinese Grammar For
Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法)](A_Practical_Chinese_Grammar_For_Foreigners_(外国人实用汉语语法) "wikilink") (pp.
133-135)
[→buy](http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001J0ADWA&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA)
- [Basic Patterns of Chinese
Grammar](Basic_Patterns_of_Chinese_Grammar "wikilink") (p. 72)
[→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330899/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1933330899)
- [Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2
(3rd ed)](Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_2_(3rd_ed) "wikilink") (pp.
291-3)
[→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276709/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276709)
- [Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part
1](Integrated_Chinese:_Level_2,_Part_1 "wikilink") (pp. 193 - 195)
[→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276792/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276792)
- [New Practical Chinese Reader
3 (新实用汉语课本3)](New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_3_(新实用汉语课本3) "wikilink") (pp.
50-1, 99-101)
[→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/756191251X/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=756191251X)
- [40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course
(基础汉语40课上册）](40_Lessons_for_Basic_Chinese_Course_(基础汉语40课上册） "wikilink") (p.
189)[→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20)
### Websites
- Blog post (Chinese):
[“的”与“地”“得”](http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_5375d4df0100azfv.html)
- Online document (Chinese):
[“的”“地”“得”的用法区别](http://wenku.baidu.com/view/3ce1a977a417866fb84a8eca.html)
explains and shares a song about the three de's
- Sinosplice: [The Three De
Song](http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2011/08/16/the-three-de-song)
- ChinesePod blog: [The Three Musketeers (的, 得,
and 地)](http://blog.chinesepod.com/2011/05/18/the-three-musketeers-%E7%9A%84-%E5%BE%97-and-%E5%9C%B0/)
on ChinesePod.com