Lesson 2.2: The Particle 的
Searching up the most common Chinese characters will return many different results, but all results seem to have one thing in common: the character 的 (de) is consistently ranked as #1. The general purpose of 的 is to connect a descriptor to the thing it describes, and it is such an important character that we’re dedicating this whole lesson to help you understand its applications.
Possession
Possession is when you indicate who owns something, and it’s very simple in Chinese: follow the format [owner] + 的 + [thing being owned]. This works for nouns and pronouns alike.
Example: 我 (wǒ, I) + 的 + 车 (chē, car) = 我的车 (wǒ de chē, my car)
Example: 老师 (lǎo shī, teacher) + 的 + 笔 (bǐ, pen) = 老师的笔 (lǎo shī de bǐ, the teacher’s pen)
Example: 桌子 (zhuō zi, table) + 的 + 腿 (tuǐ, leg) = 桌子的腿 (zhuō zi de tuǐ, the table’s leg)
Communicating “of”
English expressions involving the word “of” are also communicated with 的, though not in exactly the same way. In English “of” expressions, the descriptor comes at the end, but in Chinese, the descriptor comes at the beginning. The format is [descriptor] + 的 + [thing being described].
Example: 电脑 (diàn nǎo, computer) + 的 + 屏幕 (píng mù, screen) = 电脑的屏幕 (diàn nǎo de píng mù, the screen of the computer)
Example: 这本书 (zhè běn shū, this book) + 的 + 作者 (zuò zhě, author) = 这本书的作者 (zhè běn shū de zuò zhě, the author of this book)
Example: 中国 (zhōng guó, China) + 的 + 文化 (wén huà, culture) = 中国的文化 (zhōng guó de wén huà, Chinese culture)
Notice how that format is the exact same format used to show possession. That means that 电脑的屏幕 could be translated as “the computer’s screen,” which would also be correct.
Other ways to associate nouns
The two cases above, possession and “of” expressions, are just two examples of a larger concept at play: 的 is used to connect one noun to another and show that the first noun describes the second one. There are many other English phrases that can be expressed with this same pattern, so look out for them. Most of the time, when you use one noun to describe another, you’ll connect them with 的.
Example: 市场 (shì chǎng, market) + 的 + 水果 (shuǐ guǒ, fruit) = 市场的水果 (shì chǎng de shuǐ guǒ, the fruit from the market)
Example: 那所学校 (nà suǒ xué xiào, that school) + 的 + 学生 (xué shēng, student) = 那所学校的学生 (nà suǒ xué xiào de xué shēng, a student at that school)
Example: 照片 (zhào piàn, photo) + 的 + 女孩 (nǚ hái, girl) = 照片的女孩 (zhào piàn de nǚ hái, the girl in the photo)
Adjectives
Aside from connecting descriptive nouns, 的 is also used to connect adjectives to their nouns. Whenever an adjective is used, it should be connected to the noun it describes with 的—just like for descriptive nouns.
Example: 红色 (hóng sè, red) + 的 + 衬衫 (chèn shān, shirt) = 红色的衬衫 (hóng sè de chèn shān, red shirt)
Example: 高兴 (gāo xìng, happy) + 的 + 人 (rén, person) = 高兴的人 (gāo xìng de rén, happy person)
Example: 聪明 (cōng míng, smart) + 的 + 学生 (xué shēng, student) = 聪明的学生 (cōng míng de xué shēng, smart student)
Inverting 的 expressions with 是
Any time an expression is formed with 的, it can be inverted to form a complete sentence. If an expression follows the form [descriptor] + 的 + [noun], it can be converted to a sentence of the form [noun] 是 [descriptor] 的.
Example: 我的车 (wǒ de chē) becomes 车是我的。 (chē shì wǒ de, TThe car is mine).
Example: 老师的笔 (lǎo shī de bǐ) becomes 笔是老师的。 (bǐ shì lǎo shī de, The pen is the teacher’s).
Example: 市场的水果 (shì chǎng de shuǐ guǒ) becomes 水果是市场的。 (shuǐ guǒ shì shì chǎng de, The fruit is from the market.)
Example: 红色的衬衫 (hóng sè de chèn shān) becomes 衬衫是红色的。 (chèn shān shì hóng sè de, The shirt is red).
When 的 is used like it is in that last sentence, 是 no longer strictly has to communicate equality, and its role can become more like that of 很. In fact, there are often two ways to give adjective descriptions as a complete sentence: [subject] 很 [adjective], and [subject] 是 [adjective] 的. They’re often interchangeable, but as you get familiar with Chinese you’ll pick up on when each is more appropriate. For example, the “很” format is more appropriate for describing people, and the “是…的” format is more appropriate for naming colors.
Subordinate clauses
This is a little advanced for this point, but eventually, you’ll start seeing 的 used in what are called subordinate clauses. Subordinate clauses are essentially miniature sentences that are used to describe part of a larger sentence.
Example: “The person who does my hair is named James.”: “does my hair” describes “person”
给我做头发 (gěi wǒ zuò tóu fà, does my hair) + 的 + 人 (rén, person) + 叫詹姆斯 (jiào zhān mǔ sī, is named James) = 给我做头发的人叫詹姆斯 (gěi wǒ zuò tóu fà de rén jiào zhān mǔ sī).
Example: “I liked the dress that had the green stripes.”: “had the green stripes” describes “dress”
我喜欢 (wǒ xǐ huān, I liked) + 有绿色的条纹 (yǒu lǜ sè de tiáo wén, had the green stripes) + 的 + 裙子 (qún zi, dress) = 我喜欢有绿色的条纹的裙子 (wǒ xǐ huān yǒu lǜ sè de tiáo wén de qún zi).
Example: “That woman is the doctor I met.”: “I met” describes “doctor”
那个女人是 (nà gè nǚ rén shì, that woman is) + 我认识了 (wǒ rèn shi le, I met) + 的 + 医生 (yī shēng, doctor) = 那个女人是我认识了的医生 (nà gè nǚ rén shì wǒ rèn shi le de yī shēng).
One of the most common ways this is used is when talking about the concept of “favorite.” In Chinese, “[x]’s favorite [y]” is phrased more like “[y] that [x] likes most,” which contains a subordinate clause.
Example: “Apples are my favorite fruit.”
苹果是 (píng guǒ shì, apples are) + 我最喜欢 (wǒ zuì xǐ huān, I like most) + 的 + 水果 (shuǐ guǒ, fruit) = 苹果是我最喜欢的水果 (píng guǒ shì wǒ zuì xǐ huān de shuǐ guǒ).
Example: “His favorite month is January.”
他最喜欢 (tā zuì xǐ huān, he likes most) + 的 + 月 (yuè, month) + 是一月 (shì yī yuè, is January) = 他最喜欢的月是一月 (tā zuì xǐ huān de yuè shì yī yuè).
When 的 is optional or incorrect
There are a few situations in which you have the option not to use 的. They are:
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Possessive pronouns used to describe family words
Example: 我妈妈 (wǒ mā mā) or 我的妈妈 (wǒ de mā mā)
Example: 你哥哥 (nǐ gē gē) or 你的哥哥 (nǐ de gē gē)
Example: 我们家 (wǒ men jiā) or 我们的家 (wǒ men de jiā)
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Single-syllable adjectives: using 的 for these might sound unnatural
Example: 好人 (hǎo rén, good person) or 好的人 (hǎo de rén)
Example: 大房子 (dà fáng zi, big house) or 大的房子 (dà de fáng zi)
When using 的 in real sentences, just remember that its role is always to connect a descriptor to the thing it describes. That is its one and only meaning, even though it might seem like it has multiple meanings at first.