Like in English, Chinese adjectives modify a noun or pronoun. A Chinese adjective might express size, color, emotion, nature, temperature, age and more:
好 (hǎo) – good
冷 (lěng) – cold
开心 (kāixīn) – happy
圆 (yuán) – round
大 (dà) – big
美丽 (měilì) – beautiful
危险 (wēixiǎn) – dangerous
Use a Modifier for Adjectives Instead of 是 (Shì)
Adjectives need a modifier before them so they’ll sound natural. The most common modifier is 很 (hěn) – very. Think of it as meaning “is” for adjectives. For example:
她很开心。 (Tā hěn kāi xīn.) – She is happy.
电影很有趣。 (Diànyǐng hěn yǒuqù.) – The movie is interesting.
Here are other common modifiers:
非常冷 (fēicháng lěng) – extremely cold
比较大 (bǐjiào dà) – relatively large
太贵 (tài guì) – too expensive
最好吃 (zuì hǎochī) – most delicious
有点复杂 (yǒudiǎn fùzá) – a little complicated
It’s also important to note that with adjectives, you never use 是 (shì) — to be. Although in English we say “is” with adjectives (for example, “she is happy”), we only need a modifier like 很 in Chinese.
Note: The exception to this would be if you want to emphasize the adjective in a surprised way, such as in: 他是很勇敢啊！(Tā shì hěn yǒnggǎn a!) – He is really brave! (and I really didn’t expect it…)
How to Negate Chinese Adjectives
You can also use the negative modifier 不 (bù) to negate adjectives:
我的姐姐不忙。 (Wǒ de jiějiě bù máng.) – My sister is not busy.
他们不生气。 (Tāmen bù shēngqì.) – They are not angry.
这个问题不太难。 (Zhè ge wèntí bù tài nán.) – This problem is not too difficult.
Adjective + 的 (de) + Noun
One of the most basic Chinese grammar structures for is adjective + 的 (de) + noun.
的 (de) is a versatile particle, and one of its main uses is for connecting adjectives with nouns to make descriptive phrases. For example:
很大的房子 (hěn dà de fángzi) – very big house
新的电脑 (xīn de diànnǎo) – new computer
非常安静的地方 (fēicháng ānjìng de dìfāng) – an extremely quiet place
