Learning Chinese

Grammar

Possession with 的

The particle 的 (de) marks possession and links modifiers to nouns. The pattern is always:

[owner / modifier] + 的 + [noun]

Possession

  • 我 的 书 — wǒ de shū — "my book"
  • 你 的 名字 — nǐ de míngzi — "your name"
  • 他 的 妈妈 — tā de māma — "his mom"

Adjectives that take 的

When an adjective is modified (e.g. with 很) or longer than one syllable, use 的 before the noun:

  • 红 的 花 — hóng de huā — "a red flower"
  • 很 大 的 山 — "a very big mountain"
  • 好 看 的 书 — "a good-looking book"

When you can drop 的

For close family members and intimate possessives, 的 can be omitted:

  • 我妈妈 "my mom" (intimate) vs 我的妈妈 (neutral)
  • 我家 "my home"

Quiz

Pick the best answer for each question. You get feedback right away.

  1. How do you say "my book"?

  2. In 红 的 花, the role of 的 is to:

  3. Which phrase is acceptable Chinese?