Adjectives in Chinese: Why You Say 很 and Don't Say 'Is'

In Mandarin, adjectives behave like verbs. That's why you don't say "is" with them, and why the word 很 (hěn) appears in so many simple sentences.

Adjectives as predicates

To say "She is tall", you say 她很高 (Tā hěn gāo) — literally "She very tall". There is no 是 (shì, to be) before an adjective.

• 我很忙。 (Wǒ hěn máng.) — I'm busy.
• 这个菜很好吃。 (Zhège cài hěn hǎochī.) — This dish is delicious.
• 今天很冷。 (Jīntiān hěn lěng.) — It's cold today.

Why 很?

If you leave the adjective bare, a sentence often sounds incomplete or implies a comparison: 她高 suggests "she's tall (compared to someone)". Adding 很 makes the sentence neutral. In this use, 很 is often weak and doesn't really mean "very".

To actually say "very", stress 很 or use 非常 (fēicháng), 特别 (tèbié) or 真 (zhēn):

• 非常好 — very good
• 特别贵 — especially expensive
• 真漂亮 — really beautiful

Negation without 很

With 不, you don't need 很:

• 她不高。 (Tā bù gāo.) — She isn't tall.
• 这个不贵。 (Zhège bú guì.) — This isn't expensive.

Adjectives before nouns

Use 的 to link an adjective to a noun:

• 漂亮的衣服 (piàoliang de yīfu) — pretty clothes
• 大的房子 (dà de fángzi) — a big house

With one-syllable adjectives, 的 can be dropped: 大房子, 好人, 新书.

Useful adjectives

• 大 (dà) big — 小 (xiǎo) small
• 高 (gāo) tall — 矮 (ǎi) short
• 好 (hǎo) good — 坏 (huài) bad
• 新 (xīn) new — 旧 (jiù) old
• 贵 (guì) expensive — 便宜 (piányi) cheap
• 快 (kuài) fast — 慢 (màn) slow
• 热 (rè) hot — 冷 (lěng) cold
• 忙 (máng) busy — 累 (lèi) tired
• 漂亮 (piàoliang) pretty — 帅 (shuài) handsome

Reduplication

Repeating an adjective can soften or intensify it: 高高的 (gāogāo de, nice and tall), 慢慢 (mànmàn, slowly).

Common mistakes

• Using 是 before an adjective: 我是忙 ✗.
• Leaving out 很, making the sentence sound incomplete.
• Forgetting 的 after multi-syllable adjectives.

Practice

1. Describe five people or things using 很 plus an adjective.
2. Make negatives with 不.
3. Add a noun and 的.
4. Look up any new adjective in a dictionary.

Look up adjectives with English Chinese Dictionary →