{"id":5830,"date":"2015-08-19T01:42:30","date_gmt":"2015-08-19T01:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/?p=5830"},"modified":"2022-05-03T04:12:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-03T04:12:00","slug":"using-hen-with-adjectives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/using-hen-with-adjectives.html","title":{"rendered":"Using  \u201c\u5f88 (h\u011bn)\u201d with Adjectives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cHow do you describe something in Chinese?\u201d This is a question that our tutors often encounter in our Chinese classes for beginners. It sounds like a basic grammar rule, but simply stating that something is blue or black is a lot harder than it seems. (In addition, you can check the detailed comparison between \u771f and \u5f88 as well as more HSK2 related grammar videos at <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.digmandarin.com\/course\/chinese-grammar-course-h2\/\">here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this post, we\u2019ll explain the formula for a simple <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Noun + Adjective<\/span><\/strong> sentence. Let\u2019s break it down by using the example for how to say \u201cHe is tall,\u201d in Chinese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The Chinese <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tutorming.com\/blog\/index.php\/gender-pronouns-ta-in-chinese\/\">gender pronoun for \u201che \/ him\u201d is \u201c\u4ed6(t\u0101.)\u201d<\/a><\/li><li>The Chinese word for \u201cis \/ are\u201d is \u201c\u662f(sh\u00ec.)\u201d<\/li><li>The Chinese word for \u201ctall\u201d is \u201c\u9ad8(g\u0101o.)\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>With that logic, saying \u201che is tall\u201d in Chinese should be \u201c\u4ed6\u662f\u9ad8(t\u0101 sh\u00ec g\u0101o),\u201d right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wrong!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike English, Chinese nouns do not necessarily have to be linked to adjectives with \u201cis \/ are.\u201d Instead, you would use a word or adverb that describes the degree of the adjective, such as the word \u201cvery\u201d or \u201cextremely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>\u201c\u4ed6\u771f\u9ad8\u201d (t\u0101 zh\u0113n g\u0101o) \u201cHe <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">is so <\/span>tall.\u201d<\/li><li>\u201c\u4ed6<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u597d<\/span>\u9ad8\u201d (t\u0101 h\u01ceo g\u0101o) \u201cHe <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">is very<\/span> tall.\u201d<\/li><li>\u201c\u4ed6<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u6bd4\u8f83<\/span>\u9ad8.\u201d (t\u0101 b\u01d0 ji\u00e0o g\u0101o)\u201cHe <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">is pretty<\/span> tall.\u201d<\/li><li>\u201c\u4ed6<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u4e0d<\/span>\u9ad8.\u201d (t\u0101 b\u00f9 g\u0101o)\u201cHe <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">is not<\/span> tall.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, what if you simply want to say that \u201cHe <em>is<\/em> tall,\u201d in Chinese, without making a statement on the degree of his height? Well, in that case, we use the Chinese character, \u201c\u5f88\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When \u201c\u5f88 (h\u011bn)\u201d = \u201cis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you plug \u201c\u5f88\u201d into Google Translate, that\u2019s the answer you will get literally translates to \u201c\u5f88\u201d is \u201cvery\u201d in English.. However, in Chinese, \u201c\u5f88\u201d is what we call a \u201cdummy-linking adverb\u201d when you attach it to an adjective. It then no longer carries that particular meaning. So \u201c\u4ed6\u5f88\u9ad8\u201d is translated into and accepted as, \u201che is tall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The basic formula for<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> <strong>Noun + \u201cis\u201d + Adjective<\/strong><\/span> in Chinese: <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Noun + <\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u5f88<\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> + Adjective.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some more sentences examples with \u201c\u5f88\u201d as a dummy-linking adverb:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"custom_example_style\">\u8fd9\u4e2a\u83dc\u5f88\u597d\u5403\u3002(zh\u00e8 g\u00e8 c\u00e0i h\u011bn h\u01ceo ch\u012b)<br>This dish is delicious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"custom_example_style\">\u4f60\u7684\u5934\u53d1\u5f88\u957f\u3002(n\u01d0 de t\u00f3u fa h\u011bn ch\u00e1ng)<br>Your hair is long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"custom_example_style\">\u4e2d\u6587\u5f88\u96be\u3002(zh\u014dng w\u00e9n h\u011bn n\u00e1n)<br>Chinese is difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"custom_example_style\">\u8fd9\u4e2a\u8868\u6f14\u5f88\u7cdf\u7cd5\u3002(zh\u00e8 g\u00e8 bi\u01ceo y\u01cen h\u011bn z\u0101o g\u0101o)<br>This performance is disastrous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, there are a few exceptions to this rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When does \u201c\u5f88 (h\u011bn)\u201d mean \u201cvery?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you are describing something that is a fact or perceived fact, you no longer use the formula listed above. Adjectives like \u201ctall, difficult, long, and disastrous\u201d are <em>relative <\/em>and depend on the situation<em>. <\/em>A perceived fact would be something that is indisputable, such as color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So saying \u201cThe dress is blue\u201d in Chinese would <strong><em>not<\/em> be<\/strong> \u201c\u88d9\u5b50\u5f88\u84dd.\u201d This is incorrect and would translate into \u201cThe dress is <em>very<\/em> blue.\u201d Instead, to say \u201cthe dress is blue,\u201d you would say, \u201c\u88d9\u5b50<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u662f<\/span><\/strong>\u84dd\u8272\u7684.\u201d The formula is as follows: <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Noun + \u201c\u662f\u201d + Adjective + \u201c\u7684.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another way you can use adjectives in Chinese is by applying them <em>before <\/em>nouns. In English, you might say, \u201cThe pretty girl.\u201d In Chinese, that would be \u201c\u6f02\u4eae\u7684\u5973\u5b69.\u201d (This uses de <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/how-to-use-the-structural-particle-de.html\">\u7684<\/a> to describe the person)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what if you were to say \u201c\u5f88\u6f02\u4eae\u7684\u5973\u5b69?\u201d That would mean \u201cthe very pretty girl.\u201d Since \u201c\u5f88\u201d is not linking the adjective to the noun in this case, it retains the meaning of \u201cvery.\u201d The basic formula for \u201cVery\u201d + Adjective + Noun is: <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u201c<\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u5f88<\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u201d + Adjective + \u201c<\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u7684<\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u201d + Noun<\/span><\/strong><br>Here are some examples of using \u201c\u5f88\u201d to mean \u201cvery\u201d with adjectives:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>\u5f88\u597d\u7684\u5ea7\u4f4d\u3002Very good seats.<\/li><li>\u5f88\u6709\u94b1\u7684\u4eba\u3002Very wealthy person.<\/li><li>\u5f88\u7f8e\u4e3d\u7684\u98ce\u666f\u3002Very beautiful scenery.<\/li><li>\u5f88\u96be\u7684\u4f5c\u4e1a\u3002Very difficult homework.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We hope this post was helpful! Remember to practice and time along with these Chinese tips, your \u4e2d\u6587 will soon be \u201c\u5f88\u597d!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cHow do you describe something in Chinese?\u201d This is a question that our tutors often encounter in our Chinese classes for beginners. It sounds like a basic grammar rule, but simply stating that something is blue or black is a lot harder than it seems. (In addition, you can check the detailed comparison between \u771f&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":5833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,176],"tags":[77,7,93,78],"post_series":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.2.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Using \u201c\u5f88 (h\u011bn)\u201d with Adjectives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/using-hen-with-adjectives.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Using \u201c\u5f88 (h\u011bn)\u201d with Adjectives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cHow do you describe something in Chinese?\u201d This is a question that our tutors often encounter in our Chinese classes for beginners. 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