Chinese adjectives () differ from

adjective In linguistics, an adjective ( abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ...

s in English in that they can be used as

verb A verb () is a word ( part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descr ...

s (for example ; "sky black ") and thus

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingui ...

s sometimes prefer to use the terms static or stative verb to describe them.

Attributive (before nouns)

When a

noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Organism, Living creatures (including people ...

is modified using an adjective, the associative particle ''de'' is inserted between the adjective and the noun. For example, ''gāo xìng hái zi'' "happy child". is sometimes omitted to reduce repetitiveness (''e.g.'', two or more instances of within a sentence); it is also omitted in some established adjective-noun pairs to improve sentence flow (e.g., the TV show in China). It is also more typical to omit when a single-syllable adjective is used than for a multi-syllable adjective (e.g., compare () with ). In general, there are no strict rules regarding when can be omitted; however, some adjectives and adjective-noun pairs are more often seen without the associative particle than others. Some examples: * （）— "bad person" * — "strange person" * （）— "cute panda"

Predicative (after nouns)

First pattern

Unlike English, subjects and predicate adjectives in a Chinese sentence are not linked by copula but by degree adverbs, such as hěn "very," hǎo "highly", zhēn "really," and fēicháng "extraordinarily, extremely." For example, the following sentences express increasing degrees of "beauty": A complementary adverb (e.g. ''jí le'') can also specify the degree of an adjective: NB: often functions as a dummy linking adverb and does not carry the meaning of "very". For example, is often understood and translated as "She is beautiful". Besides, in colloquial Chinese the pattern "" (sǐ le, literally "to death") or "" is sometimes used in exaggeration to highlight the extent of influence, where AA is an adjective and BB is the thing being affected. Examples include *"" ( rè = hot) - meaning "It's so hot o the extent that I cannot bear any more *"" ( è = hungry) - meaning " feelso hungry o the extent that I cannot bear any more *"" - meaning "I feel so hot o the extent that I cannot bear any more

Second pattern

The linking verb ''shì'' (to be) is used with adjectives in the pattern—Noun + + Adj + —to state or emphasize a fact or a perceived fact. For example: Since {{lang, zh, 的 is a

possessive A possessive or ktetic form (abbreviated or ; from la, possessivus; grc, κτητικός, translit=ktētikós) is a word or grammatical construction used to indicate a relationship of possession in a broad sense. This can include strict owne ...

particle, and the following noun is understood here, more precise translations would be "He is a male one", "That car is a new one", and "That cat is a black one".

Parts of speech

* Chinese pronouns * Chinese verbs * Chinese particles * Chinese grammar

Adjectives In linguistics, an adjective ( abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ma ...