eric
/
ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
							12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758596061626364656667686970717273747576777879808182838485868788
							<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
  "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
  <title>Expressing possession with "de"</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="../Styles/main.css"/>
</head>

<body>
  <h1>Expressing possession with "<span class="pinyinst">de</span>" "<span class="hanzist">的</span>"</h1>

  <p>In Chinese, possession is marked with the particle <span class="hanzi">的</span> (<span class="pinyin">de</span>), placed after the "owner" noun or noun phrase. This particle works in a similar way to apostrophe-"s" in English, but is used much more broadly in Chinese. This article highlights one of its simplest and most common usages.</p>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_90">Contents</h2>

  <div class="contents">
    <ul>
      <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_possession_with_%22de%22#Structure"> 1 Structure</a></li>

      <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_possession_with_%22de%22#Examples"> 2 Examples</a></li>

      <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_possession_with_%22de%22#See_also"> 3 See also</a></li>

      <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_possession_with_%22de%22#Sources_and_further_reading"> 4 Sources and further reading</a></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_91"><span id="Structure">Structure</span></h3>

  <div class="deux">
    Noun 1 + <span class="hanzist">的</span> + Noun 2
  </div>

  <p>This means "<b>Noun 1's Noun 2</b>" (where Noun 2 belongs to Noun 1).</p>

  <p>The structure is super simple. It will take a bit of time before you realize how truly universal this pattern is. It doesn't matter whether the "Noun 1" is a person, place, or thing, or even if it's a pronoun (like "he," "she," or "it"). The structure stays consistent.</p>

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_92">Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">我 的 老师</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">wǒ de lǎoshī</span> <br/>my teacher</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 的 手机</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">nǐ de shǒujī </span> <br/>your cell phone</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我们 的 钱</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">wǒmen de qián</span> <br/>our money</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">他们 的 东西</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">tāmen de dōngxī</span><br/> their stuff</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">爸爸 的 车</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">bàba de chē </span> <br/>dad's car</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你们 的 菜</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">nǐmen de cài</span> <br/>your food</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">北京 的 空气</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Běijīng de kōngqì </span><br/> Beijing's air</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">公司 的 老板</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">gōngsī de lǎobǎn</span><br/> the company's boss</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">上海 的 天气</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Shànghǎi de tiānqì </span><br/> Shanghai's weather</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">老师 的 朋友</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">lǎoshī de péngyou</span><br/> teacher's friend</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_93">See also</h2>

  <ul>
    <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_close_possession" title="Expressing close possession" class="mw-redirect">Expressing close possession</a></li>

    <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Modifying_nouns_with_adjective_%2B_%22de%22" title="Modifying nouns with adjective + &quot;de&quot;">Modifying nouns with adjective + "de"</a></li>

    <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Modifying_nouns_with_phrase_%2B_%22de%22" title="Modifying nouns with phrase + &quot;de&quot;">Modifying nouns with phrase + "de"</a></li>
  </ul>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_94">Sources and further reading</h2>

  <ul>
    <li>Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (p. 45)</li>

    <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本1</span>) (p. 87)</li>

    <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本1</span>)(2nd ed) (pp. 101-2)</li>

    <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本2</span>) (pp. 64-5)</li>
  </ul>
</body>
</html>