How to Use de 的 (HSK 1)

The Chinese grammar particle de 的 is one of several grammar points that anyone looking pass the HSK 1 must master.

In Chinese, de* 的 has a few different uses, but in this article, we will cover its usages at the HSK1 level, including how to use de 的 for possession and de 的 with adjectives.

1.Using 的 to indicate possession

The particle de 的 in Chinese is used to indicate possession. It acts a bit like ‘s in English for expressing ownership. The grammatical structure for using de 的 to express possession is:

__Noun/pronoun + 的 + noun __

Let’s look at a few examples:

这是大卫的书。
Zhè shì Dàwèi de shū.
This is David’s book.

她的狗叫小白。
Tā de gǒu jiào Xiǎo Bái.
Her dog is called Xiao Bai.

那个饭馆的菜很好吃。
Nà gè fànguǎn de cài hěn hǎochī.
That restaurant’s food is delicious.

Note: When the noun that follows the possessive particle 的 is a close personal relationship (such as family, friends, or significant others), you can omit *de* 的 from the sentence.

For example:

However, for personal relationships which are more formal, the particle de 的 should still be used, such as when talking about your boss or teacher:

她是我的老板。
Tā shì wǒ de lǎobǎn.
She is my boss.

张三是我的老师。
Zhāng sān shì wǒ de lǎoshī.
Zhang San is my teacher.

2. Using 的 to describe an attribute

Another use of de 的 is for describing something or someone by connecting a noun to an adjective. De 的 is placed between a multi-syllable adjective and the noun it describes. The grammar structure for this usage of de 的 is:

Adj + 的 + noun

Here are a few examples using de 的.

我想买一件漂亮的衣服。
Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yī jiàn piāoliàng de yīfú.
I want to buy a set of beautiful clothes.

小张开很贵的车。
Xiǎo Zhāng kāi hěn guì de chē.
Xiao Zhang drives a very expensive car.

他有一只非常聪明的狗。
Tā yǒu yī zhī fēicháng cōngmíng de gǒu.
He has an extremely smart dog.

You can see that the adjective or adjective phrase before de 的 can be as long or complex as you want, as long as it is at least two characters. However, if the adjective is just one syllable, you should omit de 的. Have a look at the following examples.

你吃大苹果。
Nǐ chī dà píngguǒ.
You eat the big apple.

手机在高桌子上。
Shǒujī zài gāo zhuōzǐ shàng.
The cellphone is on the tall table.

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她是好人。
Tā shì hǎo rén.
She is a good person.

About the Author

Eden has been learning Chinese since 2008. She fell in love with the language, food, and culture and never looked back! Eden lived in China for six years, including in Harbin, Beijing, and Dali.