Chinese Nouns

Grammar > Chinese Nouns

Grammatical Functions of Chinese Noun (Noun Phrase)

A noun is a word that functions as the name of a person, thing, place or abstract concept.

In Chinese, a noun can be used as a subject(主语), a predicate(谓语), an object(宾语), an attributive(定语) or an adverbial(状语) in the sentence. It is very different from the usage of noun in English.

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. Usually it is placed at the beginning of the sentence, such as 学生们, 人口 and 生命 in the following sentences.

• Xuéshēngmen zhèngzài kǎoshì.
  学生们正在考试。
  The students are taking the exam. 12637

• Zhège guójiā de rénkǒu zài kuàisù de zēngzhǎng.
  这个国家的人口在快速地增长。
  The population of this country is growing rapidly. 12728

• Shēngmìng zàiyú yùndòng.
  生命在于运动。
  Life lies in movement. 12716

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2. As a predicate (谓语 Wèiyǔ)

The predicate is the part of a sentence that state the subject to explain what the subject does.

In Chinese, nouns and noun phrases can be directly used as predicates in short sentences, to explain time, weather, birthplace, age, appearance, quantity, etc. In the following sentences, 星期日, 星期一, 十点, 二十多岁, 黑头发, and 高个子 function as predicates.

• Jīntiān xīngqírì, míngtiān xīngqíyī.
  今天星期日，明天星期一。
  Today is Sunday, tomorrow is Monday. 8699

• Xiànzài yǐjīng shí diǎn le.
  现在已经十点了。
  It is already ten o'clock. 12785

• Tā èrshí duō suì, hēi tóufǎ, gāo gèzi.
  他二十多岁，黑头发，高个子。
  He is in his twenties, black hair and tall. 12786

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3. 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, such as 食物, 橡皮 and 意见 in the following sentences.

• Wǒ bǐjiào xǐhuān là de shíwù.
  我比较喜欢辣的食物。
  I prefer spicy food. 12757

• Wǒ kěyǐ jièyòng nǐ de xiàngpí ma?
  我可以借用你的橡皮吗？
  Can I borrow your eraser? 12721

• Wǒmen yǒuhǎo de jiāohuànle yìjiàn.
  我们友好地交换了意见。
  We exchanged opinions friendly. 12626

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4. As an attributive (定语 Dìngyǔ)

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

Attributive noun is a noun modifying another noun, such as 语言学, 学校的 and 亚洲 in the following sentences.

• Tā dǎsuàn xuéxí yǔyánxué kèchéng.
  她打算学习语言学课程。
  She plans to take a linguistics course. 5827

• Xuéxiào de wǎngzhàn jīntiān zǎoshang bèi hēidiàole.
  学校的网站今天早上被黑掉了。
  The school’s website was hacked this morning. 12601

• Zhōngguó shì yàzhōu guójiā.
  中国是亚洲国家。
  China is an Asian country. 8829

Please note: the particle "的" is the marker of the attributive, like 学校[noun] + 的.
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5. As an Adverbial (状语 Zhuàngyǔ)

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

In Chinese, time nouns and place nouns are distinguished from other nouns grammatically on the basis that they can be used as adverbials，such as 去年夏天, 北京 and 一学年 in the following example sentences.

• Qùnián xiàtiān wǒ qùle bālí.
  去年夏天我去了巴黎。
  I went to Paris last summer. 6957

• Zánmen běijīng jiàn.
  咱们北京见。
  See you in Beijing. 12787

• Zhèlǐ de xuéshēng yī xuénián zhǐ kǎo yīcì shì.
  这里的学生一学年只考一次试。
  The students here take only one test in a school year. 12629

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