How to use ‘de’ in Chinese – 的, 地 and 得

There are three de character in Chinese which often confuse learners. My intention is to explain these in detail. In summary the three Chinese de characters are:

的de indicates possession – the same as ‘apostrophe s’ in English

地de is the equivalent of “-ly” in English e.g. quickly

得de indicates possibility or how an action was performed

I have also covered the use of the 是shì的de pattern for completeness. As always I will try and keep the grammar, characters and jargon to a minimum so you can focus on how to use ‘de’ and not spend energy looking up characters or understanding complex grammar.

How to use 的 in Chinese

的de is used to show possession or ownership. The sentence order is:

somebody/somethings + 的de + noun

Let’s look at some simple examples:

Chinese	English
我wǒ的de包bāo wǒ de bāo	my bag
他tā的de书shū tā de shū	her book
他tā们men的de车chē tāmen de chē	their car

All of the above are simple pronouns, however this doesn’t have to be the case. 的de can also be used to describe things, specifically meaning they can use an adjective. The formula here is:

adjective + 的de + noun

Some examples:

Chinese	English
很hěn热rè的de水shuǐ hěn rè de shuǐ	very hot water
太tài吵chǎo的de孩hái子zi tài chǎo de háizi	too noisy kids
最zuì快kuài的de车chē zuì kuài de chē	the fastest car
黄huáng色sè的de花huā huángsè de huā	yellow flower

This is unlike English where we do not use possession so often. To take the last example, we never say “yellow’s flower” or “hot’s water” in English

You can also use 的 with a verb, this follows the familiar formula:

verb + 的de + noun

做zuò饭fàn的de人rén	zuò fàn de rén	The person who cooks
开kāi车chē的de人rén	kāichē de rén	The person who drives
唱chàng歌gē的de女nǚ人rén	chànggē de nǚrén	The woman who sings

The above is really the equivalent of saying in English “the <noun> that <verb>”, or to be more specific, “The person/thing or thing who does something”, where “something” is the verb.

When can 的 de be left off or omitted?

There are several situations where you can simply leave 的 off completely:

Situation 1: You do not need to use 的de when referring to people who you are familiar with, so for example not to describe your mother, father, friend, teacher, etc.
For example:

English	Correct	的 not required
My mother	我wǒ妈mā妈ma wǒ māmā	我wǒ的de妈mā妈ma wǒ de māmā
My father	我wǒ爸bà爸ba wǒ bàba	我wǒ的de爸bà爸ba wǒ de bàba
My friend	我wǒ朋péng友you wǒ péngyǒu	我wǒ的de朋péng友you wǒ de péngyǒu
My teacher	我wǒ老lǎo是shì wǒ lǎoshī	我wǒ的de老lǎo师shī wǒ de lǎoshī

Situation 2: 的 can be dropped is in the case of a single character adjective:

English	Correct	的 not required
Fast car	快kuài车chē kuài chē	快kuài的de车chē kuài de chē
Cold water	冷lěng水shuǐ lěng shuǐ	冷lěng的de水shuǐ lěng de shuǐ

When the subject of a sentence can be removed from a 的 sentence

The subject of a sentence can be removed if it is understood from context. Dropping words or details is common in Mandarin common where context is understood. 
For example:

Question	Correct – with 的	Also correct – with the subject
这zhè是shì谁shéi的de车chē?? zhè shì shéi de chē? Whose car is this?	这zhè是shì王wáng老lǎo师shī的de zhè shì wáng lǎoshī de chē This is the teacher Wang’s	这zhè是shì王wáng老lǎo师shī的de车chē zhè shì wáng lǎoshī de This is teacher Wang’s car
你nǐ要yào去qù谁shéi的de家jiā?? nǐ yào qù shéi de jiā? Whose house do you want to go to?	我wǒ要yào去qù王wáng的de wǒ yào qù wáng de I want to go to Wang’s	我wǒ要yào去qù王wáng的de家jiā wǒ yào qù wáng de jiā I want to go to Wang’s house

You do not have to drop the subject, however doing so will make your Chinese sound more authentic and reduces unnecessary repetition. In English we similarly drop words, so for example if you were asked: “whose car is this?” you could respond “this car is Mr Wang’s” or “this is Mr Wang’s car”, however you most likely would just reply “it’s Mr Wang’s”.

As you can see Chinese and English are similar in this respect.

How to use 的 multiple times in a sentence

You are able to combined 的 multiple times in a sentence, as usual here are some examples:

Chinese	English
我wǒ的de老lǎo婆pó的de车chē wǒ de lǎopó de chē	My wife’s car
我wǒ去qù年nián的de很hěn喜xǐ欢huan的de旅lǚ行xíng wǒ qùnián de hěn xǐhuān de lǚxíng	My last years enjoyable holiday

This again shows the flexibility of 的de, as in English we don’t “say my’s wife’s car” or “last year’s enjoyable’s holiday”

Similar to English, order doesn’t matter when listing attributes of a noun, that is attributes of a person, place or thing. you for example the following are equivalent:

Original Chinese Sentence	Order reversed
很hěn高gāo的de很hěn帅shuài的de男nán人rén hěn gāo de hěn shuài de nánrén this/those very tall, very handsome guy(s)	很hěn帅shuài的de很hěn高gāo的de男nán人rén hěn shuài de hěn gāo de nánrén this/those very handsome, very tall guy(s)
那nà个ge很hěn大dà的de很hěn红hóng的de球qiú nàgè hěn dà de hěn hóng de qiú the very large, very red ball	那nà个ge很hěn红hóng的de很hěn大dà的de球qiú Nàgè hěn hóng de hěn dà de qiú the very red, very large ball

The above only applies to listing attributes of a noun, and not possession. For example:

Correct	Incorrect
昨zuó天tiān的de中Zhōng文wén的de报bào纸zhǐ zuótiān dezhōngwén de bàozhǐ yesterday’s Chinese language newspaper	中Zhōng文wén的de昨zuó天tiān的de报bào纸zhǐ zhōngwén de zuótiān de bàozhǐ Chinese language yesterday’s newspaper
我wǒ的de同tóng事shì的de朋péng友you的de玩wán具jù wǒ de tóngshì de péngyǒu de wánjù my colleague’s son’s toy	我wǒ的de同tóng事shì的de玩wán具jù的de朋péng友you wǒ de tóngshì de wánjù de péngyǒu my colleague’s toy’s son

As you can see from the above examples, reversing the order doesn’t make sense when using 的de for possession. As this is the same as English, just use common sense rather than trying to memorise this as a special rule.

Using 的 multiple times with quantities

It is important that any numbers be included at the start of the setnence prior to the multiple 的 in a sentence, so for example

English	Correct	Incorrect
Those two tall, handsome guy	这zhè两liǎng个gè很hěn高gāo的de很hěn帅shuài的de男nán人rén	那nà很hěn高gāo的de很hěn帅shuài的de两liǎng个gè男nán人rén
Those ten large pink birds	那nà十shí只zhī大dà的de粉fěn红hóng色sè的de鸟niǎo	那nà大dà的de粉fěn红hóng色sè的de十shí只zhī鸟niǎo

English is somewhat similar but less strict, so for example we would probably say “those two tall, handsome guys” instead of “those tall, handsome two guys” or “those ten large pink birds” rather than “those large pink ten birds”. 

How to use 地 in Chinese

地 is the equivalent of “-ly” in English

For example:

Chinese	English
她tā很hěn快kuài地de开kāi车chē tā hěn kuài dì kāichē	She quickly drove
他tā慢màn慢màn地de说shuō tā màn man de shuō	He slowly spoke

There are a few important rules to remember when using 地de

1. Because 地 is used to add the equivalent of ‘-ly’ this means it is being used with adjectives e.g.
   • quick becomes quickly
   • slow becomes slowly
2. 地 should be used with a two syllable word (adjective), you can do this by either repeating the single character character or add a degree to the word. To repeat my previous two examples:

English	Correct	Incorrect
She quickly drove	她tā很hěn快kuài地de开kāi车chē tā hěn kuài dì kāichē	她tā快kuài地de开kāi车chē tā kuài de kāichē
He slowly spoke	他tā慢màn慢màn地de说shuō tā màn man de shuō	他tā慢màn地de说shuō tā màn de shuō

How to use 得 in Chinese

得de (known because of it’s “ren” radical 彳chì as 双shuāng人rén得de (shuāngrén de) is the most difficult to understand without getting in to language jargon, which I try to avoid where possible.

得de is used to explain how an action is or was performed. For example speaks, climbs, runs

As always, I prefer examples:

Chinese	English
她tā爬pá得de好hǎo tā pá dé hǎo	She climbs well
他tā们men做zuò饭fàn得de不bù好hǎo tāmen zuò fàn de bù hǎo	He doesn’t cook well
他tā说shuō得de慢màn tā shuō dé màn	He talks slowly

Note: when I wrote the above on the computer using pinyin input, the computer wrote these as 他tā说shuō的de快kuài and 他tā开kāi的de慢màn, in both cases using 的de instead of 得de. While you can generally rely upon the pinyin input to use the correct character, this is not always the case.

The formula could be summarised as follows:

action verb  + //ssttrroonngg>>eemm>>ssttrroonngg>>得de + adjective

Where:

• action verb examples are speaks, drives, climbs, walks, talks, etc.
• adjective describes the action such as fast, slow, good (well), bad
  

If you want to add intensity to the above, you can insert this in fron of the adjective.

他tā说shuō得de太tài慢màn tā shuō dé tài màn	He talks too slowly
他tā们men做zuò饭fàn得de真zhēn不bù好hǎo tāmen zuò fàn de zhēn bù hǎo	He really doesn’t cook well
她tā爬pá得de很hěn好hǎo tā pá de hěn hǎo	She climbs very well
她tā开kāi得de比bǐ较jiào快kuài tā kāi dé bǐjiào kuài	She drives comparatively fast

You can also use 得de to ask a question, for example:

Question	Answer
他tā说shuō得de怎zěn么me样yàng？? tā shuō dé zěnme me yàng How does he speak?	他tā说shuō得de太tài慢màn。. tā shuō dé tài màn He talks too slowly
他tā们men做zuò饭fàn得de好hǎo吃chī吗ma？? tāmen zuò fàn de hào chī ma? IS his cooking tasty?	他tā们men做zuò饭fàn得de真zhēn不bù好hǎo。. tāmen zuò fàn de zhēn bù hǎo He really doesn’t cook well
她tā爬pá得de怎zěn么me样yàng？? tā pá de zěnme yàng How is her climbing (ability)?	她tā爬pá得de很hěn好hǎo。. tā pá de hěn hǎo She climbs very well
她tā开kāissttrroonngg>>得de//ssttrroonngg>>快kuài还hái是shi满mǎn？? tā kāi de kuài háishì mǎn? Does she drive fast or slow?	她tā开kāi得dessttrroonngg>>比bǐ较jiào//ssttrroonngg>>快kuài。. tā kāi dé bǐjiào kuài She drives comparatively fast

Using 得 to express possibility

得 can be used to indicate the possibility. Again this is best demonstrated by some examples

Chinese	English
他tā吃chī得de完wán tā chī dé wán	he can eat it all
她tā做zuò得de好hǎo tā zuò dé hǎo	She can do it well
你nǐ看kàn得de完wán nǐ kàn dé wán	you can finish reading it
我wǒ洗xǐ得de干gān净jìng wǒ xǐ dé gānjìng	I can wipe it clean

The formula here is as follows:

verb + 得de + result

But what if you wanted to say something wasn’t possible? In this case you replace 得 with 不. Strictly this doesn’t use 得, however I am stating this for completeness:

Chinese	English
他tā吃chī不bù完wán tā chī bù wán	he cannot eat it all
她tā做zuò不bù好hǎo tā zuò bù hǎo	she cannot do it well
你nǐ看kàn不bù完wán nǐ kàn bù wán	I cannot finish reading it
我wǒ洗xǐ不bù干gān净jìng wǒ xǐ bù gānjìng	I cannot wipe it clean

Here the formula is:

verb + 不bù + result

Don’t confused 得 (de) with 得 (dei)

It is important not to confused the two pronunciations of 得de:

• 得de pronounced as “de” is used to explain how an action was performed, as I’ve already discussed above
• 得de pronounced as “děi” and means must for example:
  我wǒ得děi买mǎi蔬shū菜cài (wǒ dé mǎi shūcài) “I must by vegetables”
• 
  

There shouldn’t be opportunity to confused these as the correct 得 should be obvious from the context.

How to use shi de (是的) in Chinese

The 是shì的de combination allows you to focus on details of an event that has taken place in the past such as the time or place.

To use 是shì的de, simply pace 是shì before the phrase you are focusing on and 的de at the end of the sentence. For example

With 是的		Without 是的
Chinese	English	Chinese	English
他tā是shì一Yī月yuè以yǐ前qián去qù医yī院yuàn的de	He went to the hospital last month	他tā一Yī月yuè以yǐ前qián去qù医yī院yuàn了le。.	He went to the hospital last month
他tā是shì在zài哪nǎ里lǐ扔rēng球qiú的de??	Where did he through that ball?	他tā在zài哪nǎ里lǐ扔rēng球qiú？?	Where did he through the ball?
他tā是shì跟gēn谁shéi去qù旅lǚ游yóu的de	With whom did he go on holiday?	他tā跟gēn谁shéi去qù旅lǚ游yóu？?	Who did he go on holiday with?

As you can see from the above examples, the 是shì的de adds emphasis and can be used time or location.

The 的 in 是的 can also be placed after the verb rather than at the end of the sentence, so modifying the previous examples:

的 at the end of the sentence	的 after the veb
Chinese	Chinese	English
他tā是shì一Yī月yuè以yǐ前qián去qù医yī院yuàn的de	他tā是shì一Yī月yuè以yǐ前qián去qù的de医yī院yuàn	He went to the hospital last month
他tā是shì在zài哪nǎ里lǐ扔rēng球qiú 的de	他tā是shì在zài哪nǎ里lǐ扔rēng的de球qiú	Where did he through that ball?
他tā是shì跟gēn谁shéi去qù旅lǚ游yóu的de	他tā是shì跟gēn谁shéi去qù的de旅lǚ游yóu	With whom did he go on holiday?

There are exemptions to moving 的 after the verb, specifically where the object of the sentence is a pronoun (for example him, her, they, us, etc) the 的 needs to be placed at the end of the sentence.

Correct	Incorrect	English
我wǒ是shì每měi天tiān都dōu嘲cháo笑xiào他tā的de。. wǒ shì měitiān doū cháoxiào tā de	我wǒ是shì每měi天tiān都dōu嘲cháo笑xiào的de他tā。. wǒ shì měitiān dū cháoxiào de tā	I tease him every day
你nǐ是shì为wèi什shén么me打dǎ他tā的de。. nǐ shì wèishéme dǎ tā de	你nǐ是shì为wèi什shén么me打dǎ的de他tā。. nǐ shì wèishéme dǎ di tā	Why did you hit him?

Negative sentences with 是的

Only 不 can be used with 是shì的de to create a negative sentence, this is done by placing 不bù before 是shì:

Correct	Incorrect	English
这zhè本běn书shū不bù是shì在zài书shū店diàn买mǎi的de。.	这zhè本běn书shū是shì不bù在zài书shū店diàn买mǎi的de。.	I did not buy this book at the bookshop
这zhè本běn书shū不bù是shì比bǐ较jiào大dà的de。.	这zhè本běn书shū是shì不bù比bǐ较jiào大dà的de。.	this book is not the biggest

When 是 can be ommitted from 是的

When using the 是shì。.。.的de combination, 是shì can be left off when the sentence is positive (affirmative) but not negative sentences

Examples of positive sentences:

With 是 (Correct)	Without 是 (Also correct)	English
这zhè本běn书shū是shì在zài书shū店diàn买mǎi的de。.	这zhè本běn书shū是shì在zài书shū店diàn买mǎi的de。.	I bought this book at the bookshop
至zhì本běn书shū是shì比bǐ较jiào大dà的de。.	这zhè本běn书shū比bǐ较jiào大dàssttrroonngg>>的de//ssttrroonngg>>。.	this book is the biggest
他tā们men是shì从cóng哪nǎ里lǐ来lái的de ？?	他tā们men从cóng哪nǎ里lǐ来lái的de？?	They came from where?

Based on the above examples you can see how you can’t use 不bù without 是shì.  Just think of this as being “is not” or literally not is, 不bù是shì.

Conclusion

Wrapping it up, knowing which de to use comes with experience. I recommend mentally focusing on how to use de and not which character corresponds to the it’s specific use. To recap the use of de is

• possession: The ball is mine 这zhè个ge球qiú是shì我wǒ的de
• -ly equivalent: He ran quickly 他tā很hěn快kuài地de开kāi车chē
• possibility: 他tā说shuō得de快kuài
• as emphasise: 你nǐ是shì在zài哪nǎ里lǐ买mǎi的de买mǎi这zhè本běn书shū