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 |
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. |
De or De is the question. =))))
You are welcome!
Now I understand. Good article
Hello.
You are welcome.