Brooke Bagley
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37 Chinese Adverbs You Need to Create Native-sounding Chinese Sentences
As beginner Chinese learners, we learn how to string simple, basic sentences together using a subject, verb and object.
But sometimes, we need to sprinkle in a few words to add more detail.
These words are adverbs—or 副词 (fù cí) in Chinese.
Adverbs give your sentences more clarity and detail. They help you express yourself better and provide extra information that might be important.
Although these words are tiny, they’re quite powerful.
So in this blog post, I’m here to teach you how to use Mandarin Chinese adverbs in your everyday speech, the four different types and 37 adverbs you absolutely must know.
Contents
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How Chinese Adverbs Work
Adverbs are powerful little words, but they require a basic formula. Without knowing how they work or where to insert them into sentences, your Chinese adverbs wouldn’t be very powerful at all.
The first step is to go back to the basics.
And by basics, I mean let’s review basic sentence structure.
Chinese follows a subject-verb-object (SVO) pattern, just like English. We begin to construct the simplest of sentences using this formula. For example:
我吃早饭。
(wǒ chī zǎo fàn)
I eat breakfast.
我喜欢你。
(wǒ xǐ huān nǐ)
I like you.
我看电影。
(wǒ kàn diàn yǐng)
I watch movies.
While you can certainly communicate a number of ideas by using simple sentences like these, adding adverbs makes your sentences clearer, more detailed and more native-sounding.
There are four main types of Chinese adverbs: adverbs of frequency, time, place and manner.
Now, let’s get into the fun stuff.
I suggest keeping a pen and notebook by your side to make the most out of this post. Copy down the example sentences and then try to make your own.
Adverbs of Frequency
These Chinese adverbs are used to express how often or how little a certain event happens.
The usual formula for using Chinese adverbs of frequency is:
Subject + Adverb of Frequency + Verb + Object
Let’s take a look at some must-know adverbs of frequency and see how they’re used in real life with examples.
1. 很少 (hěn shǎo)
Meaning: rarely
The adverb 很少 translates to “rarely” and is similar in usage to its English counterpart.
我星期天很少工作。
(wǒ xīng qī tiān hěn shǎo gōng zuò.)
I rarely work on Sundays.
他很少吃早饭。
(tā hěn shǎo chī zǎo fàn.)
he rarely eats breakfast.
2. 经常 (jīng cháng)
Meaning: often
我经常去中国。
(wǒ jīng cháng qù zhōng guó.)
I often go to China.
3. 常常 (cháng cháng)
Meaning: often
经常 is commonly said as 常常 (cháng cháng).
你常常来这里吗？
(nǐ cháng cháng lái zhè lǐ ma?)
Do you come here often?
4. 从不 (cóng bù)
Meaning: never
他从不喝啤酒。
(tā cóng bù hē pí jiǔ.)
He never drinks beer.
我是素食者，所以从不吃肉。
(wǒ shì sù shí zhě, suǒ yǐ cóng bù chī ròu.)
I’m vegetarian, so I never eat meat.
5. 总是 (zǒng shì)
Meaning: always
你星期三总是去你女朋友的家。
(nǐ xīng qī sān zǒng shì qù nǐ nǚ péng yǒu de jiā.)
On Wednesdays, you always go to your girlfriend’s house.
我不喜欢她，因为她总是斤斤计较。
(wǒ bù xǐ huān tā, yīn wèi tā zǒng shì jīn jīn jì jiào.)
I don’t like her, because she always haggles over every ounce (fusses about everything).
6. 动不动（就） (dòng bú dòng [jiù])
Meaning: always
There are two ways we can use the word “always” in Chinese—总是 or 动不动（就）.
总是 is more generic, and is a very common way to say “always.” On the other hand, 动不动（就）is used only to describe negative events, and literally means “at every turn.”
It can be said as just 动不动 or you can add a 就 at the end, to make it 动不动就.
你动不动就骗我。
(nǐ dòng bú dòng jiù piàn wǒ.)
You always lie to me.
7. 有（的）时候 (yǒu [de] shí hou)
Meaning: sometimes
我有的时候会喝酒。
(wǒ yǒu de shí hou huì hē jiǔ.)
I sometimes drink alcohol.
她有时候会来我家。
(tā yǒu shí hou huì lái wǒ jiā.)
She sometimes comes to my house.
8. 通常 (tōng cháng)
Meaning: usually/typically
我通常走路上下班。
(wǒ tōng cháng zǒu lù shàng xià bān.)
I usually walk to and from work.
9. 平时 (píng shí)
Meaning: usually/typically
我平时会在早上喝咖啡。
(wǒ píng shí huì zài zǎo shàng hē kā fēi.)
I usually have coffee in the morning.
10. 一般 (yì bān)
Meaning: usually/typically
我一般早上去跑步。
(wǒ yì bān zǎo shang qù pǎo bù.)
I usually go running in the morning.
11. 偶尔 (ǒu ěr)
Meaning: occasionally
我偶尔旅游。
(wǒ ǒu ěr lǚ yóu.)
I occasionally travel.
她偶尔去美国。
(tā ǒu ěr qù měi guó.)
She occasionally goes to the United States.
Adverbs of Time
These useful words tell us when an event takes place.
There are two positions adverbs of time can take when forming sentences—before the subject or after the subject, and both are very common, such as this:
Subject + Adverb of Time + Verb + Object
Adverb of Time + Subject + Verb + Object
These patterns are mostly interchangeable, with a few exceptions (which we’ll explore soon!).
Luckily, you probably already know many (if not all) of the adverbs of time.
12. 昨天 (zuó tiān)
Meaning: yesterday
我昨天看了那部电影。
(wǒ zuó tiān kàn le nà bù diàn yǐng.)
I watched that movie yesterday.
13. 今天 (jīn tiān)
Meaning: today
你今天工作吗?
(nǐ jīn tiān gōng zuò ma?)
Do you work today?
14. 明天 (míng tiān)
Meaning: tomorrow
明天我去上海。
(míng tiān wǒ qù shàng hǎi.)
Tomorrow I’m going to Shanghai.
15. 后天 (hòu tiān)
Meaning: the day after tomorrow
Wouldn’t it be nice to have just one word for “these days” in English? Surprisingly, we actually do have a word for “the day after tomorrow”—overmorrow—but who ever uses that?
Luckily, it’s much simpler in Chinese!
后天我要回家。
(hòu tiān wǒ yào huí jiā.)
I will come back home the day after tomorrow.
16. 前天 (qián tiān)
Meaning: the day before yesterday
你前天去看你父母了吗？
(nǐ qián tiān kàn nǐ fù mǔ le ma?)
Did you visit your parents the day before yesterday?
17. 现在 (xiàn zài)
Meaning: now
你现在有空吗？
(nǐ xiàn zài yǒu kòng ma?)
Do you have time right now?
她现在在睡觉呢。
(tā xiàn zài zài shuì jiào ne.)
She’s sleeping right now.
18. 后来 (hòu lái)
Meaning: later/after
后来我们出去吃饭了。
(hòu lái wǒmen chū qù chī fàn le.)
Later on, we went out to eat.
她后来回家了。
(tā hòu lái huí jiā le.)
She went home afterward.
19. 马上 (mǎ shàng)
Meaning: immediately/right now/at once
你马上走吗?
(nǐ mǎ shàng zǒu ma?)
Are you leaving immediately?
我马上就回来。
(wǒ mǎ shàng jiù huí lái.)
I’ll be back in a minute/I’ll be right back.
20. 已经 (yǐ jīng)
Meaning: already
Unlike the other adverbs of time, 已经 can’t be placed before the subject. It can only come after.
你已经吃饭了吗？
(nǐ yǐ jīng chī fàn le ma?)
Have you already eaten?
我已经看过这部电影了。
(wǒ yǐ jīng kàn guo zhè bù diàn yǐng le.)
I already saw this movie.
21. 最近 (zuì jìn)
Meaning: recently
你最近怎么样?
(nǐ zuì jìn zěnme yàng?)
How have you been recently?
最近我在学中文。
(zuì jìn wǒ zài xué zhōng wén.)
I’ve been studying Chinese recently.
22. 以前 (yǐ qián)
Meaning: before/ago
两年以前我开始学中文。
(liǎng nián yǐ qián wǒ kāi shǐ xué zhōng wén.)
Two years ago, I started studying Chinese.
以前我从不看电视。
(yǐ qián, wǒ cóng bú kàn diàn shì.)
Before, I never watched TV./Previously, I never watched TV.
23. 还 (hái)
Meaning: still
Similar to 已经, 还 can’t be placed before the subject. It only comes after.
我还没去过中国。
(wǒ hái méi qù guò zhōng guó.)
I still haven’t gone to China yet.
你还没想好吗？
(nǐ hái méi xiǎng hǎo ma?)
You still haven’t decided yet?
Adverbs of Place
Third on the list are adverbs of place. These words you likely also already know, and they follow this simple formula:
Subject + Adverb of Place + Verb + Object
Or, adverbs of place can simply follow the verb 在 (zài) — to be located, to show location.
Other times, the adverb of place can become the subject, coming at the beginning of the sentence like this:
Adverb of Place + Verb + Object
24. 这里 (zhè lǐ)
Meaning: here
我在这里上学。
(wǒ zài zhè lǐ shàng xué.)
I go to school here.
你住在这里吧？
(nǐ zhù zài zhè lǐ ba?)
You live here, right?
25. 那里 (nà lǐ)
Meaning: there
我在那里工作。
(wǒ zài nà lǐ gōng zuò .)
I work there.
他们是在那里认识的。
(tā men shì zài nà lǐ rèn shi de.)
They met there.
26. 到处 （ 都 ）(dào chù [dōu])
Meaning: everywhere
This adverb can be used either as 到处 (dào chù) by itself or with 都 (dōu) added to it. However, the extra 都 doesn’t add any other meaning to the word.
到处都是人。
(dào chù dōu shì rén.)
There are people everywhere.
你到处都能睡觉。
(nǐ dào chù néng shuì jiào.)
You can sleep everywhere.
27. 哪里都 (nǎ lǐ dōu)
Meaning: anywhere
你在哪里都可以生活。
(nǐ zài nǎ lǐ dōu kě yǐ shēng huó.)
You can live anywhere.
我爸爸在哪里都能睡着。
(wǒ bà ba zài nǎ lǐ dōu néng shuì zháo.)
My dad can fall asleep anywhere.
Adverbs of Manner
Last but not least, we have the Chinese adverbs of manner. These are the words that describe how an action was done.
Mastering these will definitely help you express what you want to say better, with more detail and more precisely.
28. 挺。。。的 (tǐng…de)
Meaning: pretty/quite + adjective
This adverb is also a useful sentence pattern! Simply insert the adjective you want to use in between 挺 and 的.
你中文说得挺好的。
(nǐ zhōng wén shuō de tǐng hǎo de.)
You speak Chinese pretty well.
她学得挺快的。
(tā xué de tǐng kuài de.)
She learns quite fast.
29. 很 (hěn)
Meaning: very
As a beginner in Chinese, you likely learned that every adjective must come before the adverb 很 (hěn), which means “very.” But when it comes before adjectives, it means something more like “to be.”
你的眼睛很美丽。
(nǐ de yǎn jing hěn měi lì.)
Your eyes are (very) pretty.
30. 非常 (fēi cháng)
Meaning: very
她唱歌唱得非常好。
(tā chàng gē chàng de fēi cháng hǎo.)
She sings really/extremely well.
31. 真 (zhēn)
Meaning: really
这里的环境真美。
(zhè lǐ de huán jìng zhēn měi.)
The scenery here is really beautiful.
你说得真好。
(nǐ shuō de zhēn hǎo.)
You speak really well.
32. 好 (hǎo)
Meaning: very/so
You probably already know that 好 means “well” or “good.” But did you also know it can be used as an adverb to mean “so” or “very”?
我好累。
(wǒ hǎo lèi.)
I’m so tired.
她的衣服好漂亮。
(tā de yī fu hǎo piào liǎng.)
Her clothes are so pretty.
33. 慢慢地 (màn màn de)
Meaning: slowly
太阳慢慢地落山了。
(tài yáng màn màn de luò shān le.)
Please speak slowly.
他慢慢地走。
(tā màn màn de zǒu .)
He walks slowly.
34. 几乎不 (jī hū bù)
Meaning: hardly
他几乎不说英文。
(tā jī hū bù shuō yīng wén.)
He barely speaks English.
35. 几乎没 (jī hū méi)
Meaning: barely
今天我几乎没工作。
(jīn tiān wǒ jī hū méi gōng zuò.)
I barely worked today.
36. 主要 (zhǔ yào)
Meaning: primarily/mainly/mostly
中文和日文我都学，但是主要学中文。
(zhōng wén hé rì wén wǒ dōu xué, dàn shì zhǔ yào xué zhōng wén.)
I study both Chinese and Japanese, but I mainly learn Chinese.
游览伦敦的最佳时间主要是夏季。
(yóu lǎn lún dūn de zuì jiā shí jiān zhǔ yào shì xià jì.)
The best time to visit London is mainly in summer.
37. 几乎 (jī hū)
Meaning: almost
我几乎要告诉她了。
(wǒ jī hū yào gào sù tā le.)
I almost told her.
他几乎拿走了所有东西。
(tā jī hū ná zǒu le suǒ yǒu dōng xi.)
He almost took away everything.
Whew, that was a lot of Chinese adverbs! But it probably didn’t feel like it, because you likely already knew many of them.
By now, you should feel confident in your ability to maneuver Chinese adverbs as you wish. This also means that stronger, clearer, more descriptive sentences are in your near future!
Who knew these tiny words could be so mighty?
