Chinese Adjectives

Grammar > Chinese Adjectives

Grammatical Functions of Chinese Adjectives

Adjectives(形容词 Xíngróngcí) are words that describe the nature, state, characteristics or attributes of a person or thing, or the state of a movement or action.

In Chinese, an adjective(形容词 Xíngróngcí) can be used as a subject(主语), a predicate(谓语), an object(宾语), an attributive(定语), an adverbial(状语) or a complement(补语) in the sentence.

1. As a subject (主语 Zhǔyǔ)

The subject is the person or thing that performs the action. It is the topic of the sentence.

An adjective can be used as a subject(主语) in the sentence, such as 美丽, 耐心 and 谦虚 in the following sentences.

• Tā de měilì ràng wǒ shuō bu chū huà lái.
  她的美丽让我说不出话来。
  Her beauty made me speechless. 12804

• Nàixīn shì guānjiàn.
  耐心是关键。
  Patience is key. 12805

• Qiānxū shǐ rén jìnbù.
  谦虚使人进步。
  Modesty helps one to make progress. 12806

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2. As a predicate (谓语 Wèiyǔ)

The predicate is used to state the subject in a sentence.

Adjectives can be used as predicates, such as 骄傲, 富有,美 and 开心 in the following sentences.
_{Please note: Adjectives do not take objects.}

• Tā hěn jiāo'ào yě hěn fùyǒu.
  她很骄傲也很富有。
  She is very proud and rich. 12807

• Zhè'er de fēngjǐng tài měile!
  这儿的风景太美了！
  The scenery here is so beautiful! 12808

• Zhège zhōumò wǒ zhēn kāixīn.
  这个周末我真开心。
  I am so happy this weekend. 12809

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As an object (宾语 Bīnyǔ)

The object in a sentence is the entity that is acted upon by the subject. It is usually placed after the verb.

Adjectives can be used as objects, such as 耐心, 骄傲 and 安静 in the following sentences.

• Wǒ xūyào nǐ de nàixīn.
  我需要你的耐心。
  I need your patience. 12810

• Tā shì wǒ de jiāo'ào.
  他是我的骄傲。
  He is my pride. 12811

• Wǒ xǐhuān ānjìng.
  我喜欢安静。
  I like to be quiet. 12812

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As an attributive (定语 Dìngyǔ)

In grammar, an attributive is a word or phrase that modifies the head noun.

The particle "的" is the marker of the attributive. In the following sentences, the structure Adjective + 的 are used as an attributive to describe noun, like 美丽的 and 安静的.
_{Please note: When a monosyllabic adjective used as an attributive, generally do not need to add "的" after it, such as 新 + 方法 in the example sentence.}

• Tā láizì yīgè měilì de hǎibiān chéngshì.
  他来自一个美丽的海边城市。
  He comes from a beautiful coastal city. 9413

• Tā xǐhuān nàlǐ ānjìng de huánjìng.
  他喜欢那里安静的环境。
  He likes the quiet environment there. 12813

• Zhè shì gè xīn fāngfǎ.
  这是个新方法。
  That is a new method. 1353

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As an adverbial (状语 Zhuàngyǔ)

Adverbial is the part of a sentence that we use to give more information about predicate.

The particle 地 is the adverbial marker. The structure Adjective + 地 can be used to modify predicate, like 安静地, 耐心地, and 骄傲地 in the following example sentences.
_{Please note: When a monosyllabic adjective used as an adverbial, do not need to add "地" after it, such as 快} + 去 in the example sentence.

• Tā ānjìng de zuòzhe.
  他安静地坐着。
  He sat quietly. 10995

• Tā hěn nàixīn de děngzhe.
  他很耐心地等着。
  He waited very patiently. 12814

• Tā jiāo'ào de xiàole.
  他骄傲地笑了。
  He smiled proudly. 12815

• Nǐ kuài qù ba!
  你快去吧！
  You go quickly! 12819

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As a complement (补语 Bǔyǔ)

A complement is a sentence part used after a verb or an adjective that supplements the result, degree, tendency, likelihood, state, or quantity of the predicate.

The particle 得 is the complement marker. The structure 得 + Adjective can be used to modify predicate, like 得远 and 得 + 太 +精彩 in the following example sentences.

• Cōngmíng de rén kàn de yuǎn.
  聪明的人看得远。
  The wise look far. 12816

• Wǒ chī duōle.
  我吃多了。
  I have eaten too much. 12817

• Tā jiǎng de tài jīngcǎile.
  他讲得太精彩了。
  He spoke so wonderfully. 12818

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