The three “de” particles of Chinese,「的」,「地」and「得」; are all pronounced as “de” with the neutral tone. Even though they sound the same, they have completely different meanings!
「的」
In Chinese,「的」is used to show:
- Possession, just like “apostrophe s (‘s)” and “of” in English.
Structure: Subject + 的 + Noun
瑪麗的錢包。
玛丽的钱包。
mǎlì de qiánbāo.
Mary’s purse.
他的貓。
他的猫。
tā de māo.
His cat.
我的一位朋友。
我的一位朋友。
wǒ de yī wèi péngyǒu.
A friend of mine.
- Attribution, for describing an object.
Structure: Adjective + 的 + Noun
一件紅色的襯衫。
一件红色的衬衫。
Yī jiàn hóngsè de chènshān.
A red shirt.
一位可愛的女孩。
一位可爱的女孩。
Yī wèi kě’ài de nǚhái.
A cute girl.
- Emphasis, to explain a particular detail.
Structure: 是 + … + 的
我們是在韓國長大的。
我们是在韩国长大的。
wǒmen shì zài hánguó zhǎng dà de.
We grew up in Korea.
「地」
「地」works like the suffix “-ly” in English: it turns adjectives into adverbs.
Structure: Adjective + 地 + Verb = Adverb + Verb
他喜歡很大聲地說話。
他喜欢很大声地说话。
tā xǐhuān hěn dàshēng de shuōhuà.
He likes to speak loudly.
那個人準確地回答。
那个人准确地回答。
nàgè rén zhǔnquè de huídá.
That person answered accurately.
In some situations, single-word-adjectives are repeated twice for emphasis purposes.
你慢慢地走去那裡。
你慢慢地走去那里。
nǐ màn man de zǒu qù nàlǐ.
You walk to there slowly.
「得」
The last one, 「得」, is placed after a verb to indicate:
- Adverbs, in order to give more information about the verb.
Structure: Verb + 得 + Adjective/Adverb
他說中文說得很流利。
他说中文说得很流利。
tā shuō zhōngwén shuō dé hěn liúlì.
He speaks Chinese very fluent.
你做得很好。
你做得很好。
nǐ zuò dé hěn hǎo.
You did well.
- Possibility, which means an action can be done.
Structure: Verb + 得 + Adjective
我看得清楚。
我看得清楚。
wǒ kàn dé qīngchǔ.
I can see clearly.
小狗聽得懂。
小狗听得懂。
Xiǎo gǒu tīng dé dǒng.
The puppy can understand (from listening).
As you might have noticed, both 「地」and「得」can come along with a verb. The best way to remember them:「地」usually appears before a verb, on the other hand, 「得」appears after a verb.
In summary:
Before a noun, use 的。
Before a verb, use 地。
Before an adjective or an adverb, use 得。
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