本课汉字 Hanzi in this lesson
的 for adjective
Modifying particle (used with adjective or verb)
可爱的妹妹 (cute sister)
美丽的女孩 (pretty girl)
友善的同事 (friendly colleague)
美好的事物 (wonderful things)
安静的男孩(quiet boy)
some adjectives aren’t followed by 的
(most of then are single caracter)
大家庭 dà jiā tíng (big famaily)
小东西 xiǎo dōng xī (small thing)
老人 lǎo rén (elder)
年轻人 (young man)
年轻(的)女孩 (young girl)
丑女 (ugly woman)
Most Common Adjectives
*some adjectives often without 的
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
| 高兴的 | gāo xìng | happy |
| 漂亮的 | piāo liàng | pretty |
| 美丽的 | měi lì | beautiful |
| 亲切的 | qīn qiè | friendly |
| 大 | dà | big |
| 小 | xiǎo | small |
| 高 | gāo | tall |
| 矮 | ǎi | short (figure) |
| 好看的 | hǎo kàn | good-looking |
| 丑 | chǒu | ugly |
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
| 快乐的 | kuài lè | happy |
| 有趣的 | yǒu qù | interesting |
| 胖 | pàng | cold |
| 瘦 | shòu | hot |
| 安静的 | ān jìng | quiet |
| 年轻 | nián qīng | young |
| 老 | lǎo | old |
| 美好的 | měi hǎo | wonderful |
| 可爱的 | kě ài | cute |
| 友善的 | yǒu shàn | friendly |
Describing sth./sb. with an adjective
When we are describing sth./sb. with an adjective like the structure “My sister is pretty”, we prefer use 很( without 的 fallowed) rather than 是 (with的 fallowed)
我妹妹很漂亮
= 我的妹妹是漂亮的
他叔叔很好看
= 他叔叔是好看的
我的男友很亲切
=我的男友是亲切的
(the latter for each is understandable but not natural)
家人 (jiā rén) Family
*There is no plural form for Chinese words
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
| 奶奶 | nǎi nǎi | grandmother |
| 爷爷 | yé yé | grandfather |
| 妈妈/母亲 | mā mā / mǔ qīn | mother |
| 爸爸/父亲 | bà bà / fù qīn | dad |
| 儿子 | ér zǐ | son |
| 女儿 | nǚ ér | daughter |
| 儿女/子女 | ér nǚ /zǐ nǚ | son & daughter |
| 孩子/小孩 | hái zǐ /xiǎo hái | child, children |
| 孙子 | sūn zǐ | grandson |
| 孙女 | sūn nǚ | granddaughter |
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
| 男人/男子 | nán rén /nán zǐ | man |
| 女人/女子 | nǚ rén /nǚ zǐ | woman |
| 男女 | nán nǚ | men and women |
| 情侣/ 伴侣 | qíng lǚ / bàn lǚ | couples |
| 配偶/另一半 | pèi ǒu /lìng yī bàn | spouse |
| 老公/丈夫 | lǎo gōng /zhàng fū | husband |
| 老婆/妻子 | lǎo pó /qī zǐ | wife |
| 男(朋)友 | nán (péng )yǒu | boyfriend |
| 女(朋)友 | nǚ (péng )yǒu | girlfriend |
| 老伴儿 | lǎo bàn ér | old spouse |
亲戚 (qīn qī) Relatives
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
| maternal | ||
| 外公 | wài gōng | grandfather |
| 外婆 | wài pó | grandmother |
| 阿姨 | ā yí | aunt |
| 舅舅 | jiù jiù | uncle |
| 表哥 | biǎo gē | older male cousin |
| 表弟 | biǎo dì | younger male cousin |
| 表姐 | biǎo jiě | older female cousin |
| 表妹 | biǎo mèi | younger female cousin |
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
| paternal with the same family name | ||
| 姑姑 | gū gū | aunt |
| 叔叔 | shū shū | uncle (younger than father) |
| 伯伯 | bó bó | older uncle (older than father) |
| 堂哥 | táng gē | older male cousin |
| 堂弟 | táng dì | younger male cousin |
| 堂姐 | táng jiě | older female cousin |
| 堂妹 | táng mèi | younger female cousin |
的 for possesion
possessive particle
我的 (my/ mine)
你的 (your/ yours)
他的 (his/ her)
我们的 (our/ ours)
他们的 (their/ theirs)
王先生的 (Mr. Wang’s)
李小姐的 (Miss Li’s)
李女士的 (Ms. Li’s)
谁的？(whose)
When we are talking about familiar people,
的 is usually omitted.
我(的)妈妈
我(的)爸爸
他(的)妹妹
你(的)哥哥
他们(的)奶奶
你们(的)爷爷
我们(的)孩子