View source for Chinese adjectives

{{Short description|Adjectives in Chinese}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2024}}

'''[[Chinese language|Chinese]] adjectives''' ({{Zh|s=形容词|t={{linktext|形容詞}}|p=xíngróngcí}}) differ from [[adjective]]s in [[English language|English]] in that they can be used as [[verb]]s<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zhu |first=Yongping |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/A_Student_Grammar_of_Chinese/lImzEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Chinese+adjectives%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA138&printsec=frontcover |title=A Student Grammar of Chinese |last2=Huang |first2=Chu-Ren |date=2023-05-11 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-009-23346-0 |pages=138 |language=en}}</ref> (for example {{Zh|p=tiān hēi le|c={{linktext|天|黑|了}}|labels=no}}; {{Abbr|{{small|lit.}}|literally}} "sky black <sub>{{smallcaps|[[Perfective aspect|perfective]]}}</sub>") and thus [[linguistics|linguist]]s sometimes prefer to use the terms static or [[stative verb]] to describe them.

==Attributive (before nouns)==
When a [[noun]] is modified using an adjective, the associative particle {{lang|zh|的}} ''de'' is inserted between the adjective and the noun. For example, {{lang|zh|高兴}}{{color|red|{{lang|zh|的}}}}{{lang|zh|孩子}} ''gāo xìng {{color|red|de}} hái zi'' "happy child".  {{lang|zh|的}} is sometimes omitted to reduce repetitiveness (''e.g.'', two or more instances of {{lang|zh|的}} within a sentence); it is also omitted in some established{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} adjective-noun pairs to improve sentence flow (e.g., the TV show {{lang|zh|快乐中国}} in China). It is also more typical to omit {{lang|zh|的}} when a single-syllable adjective is used than for a multi-syllable adjective (e.g., compare {{lang|zh|坏人}} ({{lang|zh-hant|壞人}}) with {{lang|zh|奇怪的人}}). In general, there are no strict rules regarding when {{lang|zh|的}} can be omitted; however, some adjectives and adjective-noun pairs are more often seen without the associative particle than others.

Some examples:
* {{Ruby-zh-p|坏|huài}} {{Ruby-zh-p|人|rén}} （{{lang|zh-hant|壞人}}）— "bad person"
* {{Ruby-zh-p|奇怪|qíguài}} {{Ruby-zh-p|的|de}} {{Ruby-zh-p|人|rén}} — "strange person"
* {{Ruby-zh-p|可爱|kěài}} {{Ruby-zh-p|的|de}} {{Ruby-zh-p|熊猫|xióngmāo}} （{{lang|zh-hant|可愛的熊貓}}）— "cute panda"

==Predicative (after nouns)==

=== First pattern ===
Unlike English, subjects and predicate adjectives in a Chinese sentence are not linked by [[copula (linguistics)|copula]] but by degree adverbs, such as {{lang|zh|{{linktext|很}}}} hěn "very," {{lang|zh|{{linktext|好}}}} hǎo "highly", {{lang|zh|{{linktext|真}}}} zhēn "really," and {{lang|zh|{{linktext|非常}}}} fēicháng "extraordinarily, extremely."  For example, the following sentences express increasing degrees of "beauty":

{{fs interlinear|number=ex:|她 '''很''' 漂亮。|tā '''hěn''' piàoliang|She is beautiful.}}
{{fs interlinear|number=ex:|她 '''好''' 漂亮。|tā '''hǎo''' piàoliang|She is very beautiful.}}
{{fs interlinear|number=ex:|她 '''真''' 漂亮。|tā '''zhēn''' piàoliang|She is really beautiful.}}
{{fs interlinear|number=ex:|她 '''非常''' 漂亮。|tā '''fēicháng''' piàoliang|She is extraordinarily beautiful.}}

A complementary adverb (e.g. {{lang|zh|极了}} ''jí le'') can also specify the degree of an adjective:
{{fs interlinear|number=ex:|
|她 漂亮 '''极''' '''了'''。|c1=（{{lang|zh-hant|她漂亮極了。}}）
|tā piàoliang '''jí''' '''le'''
|She is exceedingly beautiful.}}

NB: {{lang|zh|很}} often functions as a dummy linking{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} adverb and does not carry the meaning of "very". For example, {{lang|zh|她很漂亮}} is often understood and translated as "She is beautiful".

Besides, in colloquial Chinese the pattern "{{lang|zh|AA死了}}" (sǐ le, literally "to death") or "{{lang|zh|AA死BB了}}" is sometimes used in exaggeration to highlight the extent of influence, where AA is an adjective and BB is the thing being affected. Examples include
*"{{lang|zh|热死了}}" ({{lang|zh|热}} rè = hot) - meaning "It's so hot [to the extent that I cannot bear any more]"
*"{{lang|zh|饿死了}}" ({{lang|zh|饿}} è = hungry) - meaning "[I feel] so hungry [to the extent that I cannot bear any more]"
*"{{lang|zh|热死我了}}" - meaning "I feel so hot [to the extent that I cannot bear any more]"

===Second pattern===
The linking verb {{lang|zh|是}} ''shì'' (to be) is used with adjectives in the pattern—Noun + {{lang|zh|是}} + Adj + {{lang|zh|的}}—to state or emphasize a fact or a perceived fact. For example:

{{fs interlinear|number=ex:
|他 '''是''' 男 '''的'''。
|tā '''shì''' nán '''de'''
|3SG {to be} male {}
|He is male.}}
{{fs interlinear|number=ex:
|那 辆 车 '''是''' 新 '''的'''。|c1=（{{lang|zh-hant|那輛車是新的。}}）
|nà liàng chē '''shì''' xīn '''de'''
|that CL car {to be} new {}
|That car is new.}}
{{fs interlinear|number=ex:
|那 只 猫 '''是''' 黑 '''的'''。|c1=（{{lang|zh-hant|那隻貓是黑的。}}）
|nà zhī māo '''shì''' hēi '''de'''
|that CL cat {to be} black {}
|That cat is black.}}

Since {{lang|zh|的}} is a [[Possession (linguistics)|possessive]] particle, and the following noun is understood here, more precise translations would be "He is a male one", "That car is a new one", and "That cat is a black one".

==Parts of speech==
*[[Chinese pronouns]]
*[[Chinese verbs]]
*[[Chinese particles]]
*[[Chinese grammar]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Language adjectives}}
[[Category:Chinese grammar|Adjectives]]