How to Use the Particle (de) 的, 地, And 得 in Chinese

What does 的, 地, 得 “de” mean in Chinese?

If you are learning Chinese, you will see that the three particles (de) are used quite often. What is the difference between – 的 ， 得 ， 地? There is no simple English translation for these grammatical particles, so we will need to go through them step by step.

的	de	changes the noun
得	de	changes the verb
地	de	turns an adjective into an adverb

的 – noun modifier

When changing a noun, “的” can be used to indicate possession or to associate an adjective (or adjective) with a noun.

Possessive

的 shows proficiency just like (‘s) in English. It will be placed between the owner and the object. Examples:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
约翰的车	Yuēhàn de chē	John’s car
我的车	Wǒ de chē	my car
他的书	Tā de shū	His book

• 约翰 – John

Linking an adjective to a noun:

的 can associate an adjective or adjective with a noun just like we can use (that, which, who) “I want a car that is red” or “My brother is a boy who likes to eat cake.” For this function, 的 will be used in this structure: (Adjective) + 的 + (noun) Examples:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
红色的车	Hóngsè de chē	Red car
喜欢吃蛋糕的男生	Xǐhuān chī dàngāo de nánshēng	Boys who like to eat cakes
不听话的孩子	Bù tīnghuà de háizi	Disobedient child
谁买的书	Shéi mǎi de shū	Who bought the book

得 – verb modifier

得 helps us understand how the verb is performed and placed between the verb and its result:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
她学得很努力。	Tā xué dé hěn nǔlì.	She learns very hard.
他唱歌唱得很不好听。	Tā chànggē chàng dé hěn bù hǎotīng.	He sings very badly.

The two examples above show the result of a verb using an adjective to judge how the verb was implemented. We can also tell the result of a verb by indicating whether or not the verb can be successful in implementation. It can be used in a positive form such as “may” or “capable”:

我走得到。	Wǒ zǒu dédào.	I can walk.
我看得见。	Wǒ kàn dé jiàn.	I can see it.
我听得懂。	Wǒ tīng dé dǒng.	I understand.

得 can be used to express “may” or “capable”, it cannot be used to express negative forms such as “may” or “cannot”. For negative form, 得 should be replaced with 不.

地 – adjective modifier

In English, we can often add (-ly) at the end of an adjective to make it an adverb. This is the same function from ， 地, but it can only be used between an adjective and a verb:

Adjective + 地 + verb

Chinese	Pinyin	English
他慢慢地走过来。	Tā màn man de zǒu guòlái.	He walked slowly over.
她开开心心地回答。	Tā kāi kāixīn xīn dì huídá.	She answered happily.