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Adjectives in Mandarin Chinese 汉语中的形容词(xing2 rong2 ci2)
Adjectives in Chinese are placed in a construction with the Determiner Particle[DP] 的 (de). The determinator (the adjective) appears in front of the particle and that what is to be determined appears behind it:
旧的大学 (jiù de dà xué) - Literal: old [DP] university - (the/an) old university
Comparation
Analog to English grammar it is also possible to compare nouns wrt. an adjective. This is done with the particle 比, where the particle occurs between the nouns compared and the adjective occurs after the second noun. It may optionally be preceded by 还(also or even) or 更(furthermore) which emphasize the difference. Never use modifiers such as 很(ver), 真(really) or (非)常(very much):
中国比法国更大 (zhong1ghuo2 bi3 fa3 guo2 geng da) - lit: China [cmp] France change big - China is even bigger than France.
数学比物理学有意思 (shuxue bi3 wulixue you3yisi) - lit: math [cmp] physics has meaning - Math is more interesting than physics.
我比你还高 (wo3 bi3 ni3 hai gao1) - lit: I [cmp] you also big - I am even taller than you.
If you compare nouns with modifiers you can omit the second mentioning of the noun, like in
她的书比我的新 (ta1 de shu1 bi3 wo3 de xin) - lit: her book [cmp] my new - Her book is newer than mine.
Negating the comparison
Beside changing the order of the nouns or negating the adjective you can also negate the comparison replacing 比 with 没有 or 不比. You can insert 那么 or 这么 to point out the speaker's opinion:
她不比你笨 (ta1 bu4 bi3 ni3 ben4) - lit: she not[cmp] you stupid - She is no more stupid than you.
我的中文没有她的那么好 (wo3 de zhong1 wen2 mei2 you3 ta1 de na4 me hao3) - lit: my Chinese hasn't her that good - My Chinese is not as good as hers.
她不比我更老 (ta1 bu4 bi3 wo3 geng4 lao3) - lit: she not[cmp] I change old - She is not much older than me.
Specifying the difference
If you wish to mention the difference between the nouns you can put it behind the adjective:
她比你高十公分 (tā bǐ nǐ gāo shí gōng fēn) - lit: she [cmp] you tall 10cm - She is 10cm taller than you.
Superlative
To express that a thing is the most wrt an adjective use the adverb 最 before the adjective. Note that here the biding particle 的 is necessary before the noun:
最快的火车 (zui4 kuai4 de huo3 che1) - the fastest train.
最贵的表 (zui4 gui4 de biao3) - the most expensive watch.
最好的地方 (zui4 hao3 de di4 fang) - the best place/ location.
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