In English, it’s common to see phrases like “a beautiful park”, “an interesting person”, “a big room”, etc. You don’t need to put anything between an adjective and a noun in these cases.
In Chinese, things get a bit more complicated. You will need to add 的 (de) between an adjective and a noun, depending on what adjective it is.

In this short post, we’ll guide you through the basic rules of using 的 (de) in Mandarin Chinese.

的 De Structure

Pronoun / Noun + 的 de + Noun

Generally speaking, 的 (de) is not needed if the adjective is made of just one character. If an adjective contains two or more syllables, then you’ll need 的 (de). Just follow this simple rule and you’ll be fine. Let’s have a look at some examples.

When to Use 的 De

With adjectives made of more than one character; use 的 (de): 

When Not to Use 的 De

With adjectives made of only one character; do not add 的 (de):

Your Turn to Practice 的 De

Now it’s your turn! Make a phrase or sentence with 的, and leave it in the comments below. You’ll get a chance to practice, and we will reply to you with valuable language feedback 👇