{"id":5890,"date":"2015-08-31T06:55:02","date_gmt":"2015-08-31T06:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/?p=5890"},"modified":"2024-12-17T06:33:46","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T06:33:46","slug":"describe-action-with-de","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/describe-action-with-de.html","title":{"rendered":"Describing Actions with \u5f97(de) in Chinese: Tips and Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When it comes to describing actions in more detail, English relies on adverbs and adjectives to say things like \u201cI run quickly.\u201d or \u201cI get up early.\u201d However, describing verbs in Chinese is slightly more complex. This is where the particle \u5f97 (de) comes in. In the most basic terms, this word is used to link a verb with other words that describe the action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at three basic sentence structures that use \u5f97 (de) to describe verbs:<\/p>\n\n\n<div role=\"navigation\" aria-label=\"Table of Contents\" class=\"simpletoc custom_toc wp-block-simpletoc-toc\"><ul class=\"simpletoc-list\">\n<li><a href=other/_#structure-one-basic-sentences\">Structure One \u2013 Basic sentences<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=other/_#structure-two-sentences-with-an-object\">Structure Two: Sentences with an object<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=other/_#structure-three-sentences-with-special%25c2%25a0-twocharacter-verbs\">Structure Three: Sentences with special\u00a0 two-character verbs<\/a>\n<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"structure-one-basic-sentences\"><strong>Structure One \u2013 Basic sentences<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center custom-featured-snippet\"><strong><strong>Subject + Verb + \u5f97(de) + \u5f88(h\u011bn) + Adjective.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u6211\u5403\u5f97\u5f88\u6162(W\u01d2 ch\u012b de h\u011bn m\u00e0n)\u3002I eat slowly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u6211\u5531\u5f97\u5f88\u597d(W\u01d2 ch\u00e0ng de h\u011bn h\u01ceo)\u3002I sing well.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u6211\u8bf4\u5f97\u5f88\u6d41\u5229(W\u01d2 shu\u014d de h\u011bn li\u00fa l\u00ec)\u3002I speak fluently.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u6211\u8fd0\u52a8\u5f97\u5f88\u591a(W\u01d2 y\u00f9nd\u00f2ng de h\u011bn du\u014d)\u3002I work out often (a lot).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The most straightforward way to use this particle is to simply add \u5f97 (de) and \u5f88 (h\u011bn) after the verb and before an adjective. This means that the adjective is now describing that verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what if we want to use an object with the verb? For example, what if I only eat fish slowly, not everything slowly? In that case, the sentence would be \u6211\u5403\u9c7c\u5403\u5f97\u5f88\u6162(W\u01d2 ch\u012b y\u00fa ch\u012b de h\u011bn m\u00e0n). Let\u2019s examine that structure a little more closely.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"structure-two-sentences-with-an-object\">Structure Two: Sentences with an object<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center custom-featured-snippet\"><strong><strong>Subject + Verb + Object + Verb(reduplication) + \u5f97(de) + \u5f88 (h\u011bn) + Adjective.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u6211<span style=\"color: #993300;\">\u5531<\/span>\u82f1\u8bed\u6b4c<span style=\"color: #993300;\">\u5531<\/span>\u5f97\u5f88\u597d(W\u01d2 ch\u00e0ng y\u012bngy\u01d4 g\u0113 ch\u00e0ng de h\u011bn h\u01ceo)\u3002I sing English songs well.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u6211<span style=\"color: #993300;\">\u8bf4<\/span>\u6c49\u8bed<span style=\"color: #993300;\">\u8bf4<\/span>\u5f97\u5f88\u6d41\u5229(W\u01d2 shu\u014d h\u00e0ny\u01d4 shu\u014d de h\u011bn li\u00fa l\u00ec)\u3002I speak Chinese fluently.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u6211<span style=\"color: #993300;\">\u590d\u4e60<\/span>\u6c49\u8bed<span style=\"color: #993300;\">\u590d\u4e60<\/span>\u5f97\u5f88\u597d(W\u01d2 f\u00f9x\u00ed h\u00e0ny\u01d4 f\u00f9x\u00ed de h\u011bn h\u01ceo)\u3002I review Chinese well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This structure is very similar to the first one, but pay close attention to the placement of the object and the fact that we say the verb twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you follow these two rules, you\u2019ll be correct in most situations. However, there are still about 30% of cases where these rules don\u2019t apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, the sentence \u201c\u6211\u7761\u89c9\u7761\u5f97\u5f88\u597d\u201d (W\u01d2 shu\u00ecji\u00e0o shu\u00ec de h\u011bn h\u01ceo) means \u201cI sleep well.\u201d Even though the word \u7761\u89c9(shu\u00ecji\u00e0o) means \u201cto sleep,\u201d there is no object in this sentence, so it doesn\u2019t fit either of the two rules we have already seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u00d7<\/strong>\u201c\u6211\u7761\u89c9\u5f97\u5f88\u597d\u201d \u2013 (W\u01d2 shu\u00ec ji\u00e0o de h\u011bn h\u01ceo).<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"structure-three-sentences-with-special%25c2%25a0-twocharacter-verbs\">Structure Three: <strong>Sentences with special\u00a0 two-character verbs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center custom-featured-snippet\"><strong><strong>Subject + Verb + First character of the verb + \u5f97(de) + \u5f88(h\u011bn) + Adjective.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u6211\u6d17\u6fa1\u6d17\u5f97\u5f88\u5feb\u3002(W\u01d2 x\u01d0z\u01ceo x\u01d0 de h\u011bn ku\u00e0i.) I take a shower quickly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u6211\u8df3\u821e\u8df3\u5f97\u5f88\u597d\u3002(W\u01d2 ti\u00e0ow\u01d4 ti\u00e0o de h\u011bn h\u01ceo.) I dance well.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u6211\u5f00\u8f66\u5f00\u5f97\u5f88\u6162\u3002(W\u01d2 k\u0101ich\u0113 k\u0101i de h\u011bn m\u00e0n.) I drive slowly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In some cases, we repeat only the first character of a two-character verb. What makes these different from other verbs? There are certain two-syllable verbs in Chinese where the first character represents the action and the second character represents the object of that action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, \u8df3\u821e(ti\u00e0ow\u01d4) means &#8220;to dance&#8221; with \u8df3(ti\u00e0o) meaning &#8220;to jump&#8221; and \u821e(w\u01d4) meaning &#8220;a dance (noun).&#8221; Therefore, we only duplicate the &#8220;action&#8221; character, which is the first character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is no shortcut for learning which two-character verbs fall into this type. Unfortunately, memorization is the most common way to learn them. Here is a list of the most common ones to get you started:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u8df3\u821e(ti\u00e0o w\u01d4) to dance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u5531\u6b4c(ch\u00e0ng g\u0113) to sing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u7761\u89c9(shu\u00ecji\u00e0o) to sleep<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u5f00\u8f66(k\u0101i ch\u0113) to drive<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u5e2e\u5fd9 (b\u0101ng m\u00e1ng) to help<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u89c1\u9762(ji\u00e0n mi\u00e0n) to meet (someone)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u7ed3\u5a5a(ji\u00e9 h\u016bn) to get married<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u751f\u6c14(sh\u0113ng q\u00ec) to be angry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It may be discouraging if you can\u2019t recall all of these special verbs from the get-go, but keep in mind that making mistakes is a part of the learning process. Even if you just say \u201c\u6211\u8df3\u821e\u5f97\u5f88\u597d\u201d (w\u01d2 ti\u00e0ow\u01d4 de h\u011bn h\u01ceo), most Chinese people will still understand you. The important thing is to repeatedly practice the grammar rules and vocabulary that challenge you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From here, start practicing forming sentences with \u5f97(de), and you may be surprised just how soon this particle becomes part of your language toolbox.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Check out more <a href=index-112.html>HSK3-related grammar tutorials and a detailed explanation<\/a> of the differences between \u7684 vs \u5730 vs \u5f97.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Further reading:<\/strong> <a href=index-26.html>The Basic Sentence Structures in Chinese<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to describing actions in more detail, English relies on adverbs and adjectives to say things like \u201cI run quickly.\u201d or \u201cI get up early.\u201d However, describing verbs in Chinese is slightly more complex. This is where the particle \u5f97 (de) comes in. In the most basic terms, this word is used to&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":5893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,176],"tags":[7,93,80,89],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-5890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-mandarin-online","category-usage","tag-grammar","tag-how-to-use","tag-self-study","tag-tips-and-suggestions","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Describing Actions with \u5f97(de) in Chinese: Tips and Examples<\/title>\n
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