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Mandarin grammar Part of Chapter 2

CEFR A1-A2

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Mandarin Adjectives: Why 'I Am Cold' Is 我冷, Not 我是冷

By Michael McGettrick and Wee Khang LinUpdated 11 October 2026

'I am cold' is (wǒ hěn lěng): no (shì), because (lěng) already means "to be cold". Mandarin adjectives are verbs. That one fact explains the (hěn) in front of them, the (bù) that negates them and the (le) that changes them.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

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很 (hěn) for a plain positive statement, 不 (bù) for the negative.

  1. 我 冷。 (I'm cold.)

    wǒ ___ lěng 。 (I'm cold.)

  2. 这个 好。 (This one isn't good.)

    zhè ge ___ hǎo 。 (This one isn't good.)

  3. 今天 忙。 (Today is busy.)

    jīn tiān ___ máng 。 (Today is busy.)

The whole picture

The colours stay the same all page long:

很 hěn (the filler)不 bù (not)没 méi (not yet)What do the colours mean?
JobHanziPinyinEnglish
Plain statement。Wǒ hěn lěng.I'm cold
Negative。Wǒ bù lěng.I'm not cold
Not yet。Tiān hái méi hēi.It isn't dark yet
Really very。Wǒ fēicháng lěng.I'm really cold
A new state。Tiān hēi le.It's got dark
Noun: needed。Tā shì lǎoshī.He's a teacher

The core principle

Mandarin adjectives behave like verbs. They are the predicate of a sentence by themselves, with no (shì):

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Wǒ hěn lěng.I'm cold
。Zhège hěn hǎo.This one is good
。Zhōngwén hěn nán.Chinese is hard
Four panels of pairs: a big apple and a small apple; a steaming hot mug and an iced drink with a straw; a shiny new blue trainer with sparkles and a worn grey shoe with a patch and a hole; a full glass of water and an empty glass.

Four labels, four whole predicates: 很 hěn plus the adjective, with no 是 shì. 苹果很大 píngguǒ hěn dà, the apple is big.

Inserting (shì) is wrong: 。 is not Mandarin. (shì) links a noun to a noun, and that is its whole job here:

  • 。 (Wǒ shì lǎoshī.) - I'm a teacher.

The technical name for these words is stative verbs. They negate like verbs and question like verbs:

  • ？ (Nǐ lèi ma?) - Are you tired?

The 很 (hěn) filler

A bare adjective sounds like the first half of a comparison. That is useful when you mean a comparison:

  • ，。 (Tā gāo, wǒ bù gāo.) - He's tall; I'm not.

For a plain statement, put (hěn) in front. It usually means "very", but here it is nearly empty:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Wǒ hěn lèi.I'm tired
。Tā hěn máng.He's busy
。Jīntiān hěn lěng.It's cold today
Four faces: a girl grinning with sparkles and a heart (happy); a yawning boy with heavy eyelids under a moon (tired); a girl with a cold compress, a thermometer and a scarf (ill); a curly-haired boy frowning with steam puffing from his head (angry).

Pronoun, 很 hěn, adjective: no 是 shì in any of them. Ill is 病了 bìng le, a new state, with the 了 le further down this page.

After work you say (wǒ hěn lèi), I'm tired. (wǒ lèi) on its own sounds unfinished, as if a contrast were coming.

When you really mean "very"

Reach for a stronger word than (hěn):

WordPinyinExampleEnglish
fēicháng。I'm really tired
zhēn！That's really good!
...tài...le！It's too expensive!
tèbié。It's especially cold today

... (tài...le) is often a complaint, "too much", but with a happy adjective it is delight: ！(Tài hǎo le!), brilliant!

Negation: 不 (bù), not 没 (méi)

Adjectives negate with (bù), and (hěn) drops out:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Wǒ bù lěng.I'm not cold
。Zhège bù hǎo.This one isn't good
。Zhōngwén bù nán.Chinese isn't hard

For "not very", everyday speech says (bú tài):

  • 。 (Jīntiān bú tài lěng.) - It isn't very cold today.

(méi) enters only to deny a change of state, and usually with (hái), still:

  • 。 (Tiān hái méi hēi.) - It hasn't got dark yet.

For the plain "I'm not cold", it is always (wǒ bù lěng). The negation page has the full and split.

Adjective + 了 (le): things have changed

(le) at the end of an adjective sentence says the state is new, or that a limit has been passed:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Tiān hēi le.It's got dark
。Wǒ lèi le.I'm tired now
。Tā dà le.He's grown up
。Tài guì le.It's too expensive

This is the change-of-state (le) from the aspect markers page, not a past tense.

Adjective + verb: 好吃 (hǎochī) and friends

Some adjectives join a verb to make a new adjective: "good to eat" is tasty.

HanziPinyinLiterallyMeans
hǎochīgood-eattasty
hǎokàngood-looknice-looking
hǎotīnggood-listennice to hear
nánxuéhard-learnhard to learn
nánkànhard-lookugly

They follow every rule on this page, (hěn) included:

  • 。 (Zhège cài hěn hǎochī.) - This dish is delicious.
  • 。 (Zhōngwén bù nánxué.) - Chinese isn't hard to learn.

Before a noun: sometimes 的 (de)

In front of a noun, a common one-syllable adjective attaches directly, and a longer or modified one usually takes (de):

  • (dà fángzi) - a big house
  • (hěn dà de fángzi) - a very big house

The rules and the exceptions are on adjectives before nouns.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
。。no (shì) before an adjective
？？no (shì) in the question either
。。a plain adjective takes (bù)
。。a noun takes (shì), not

Adjectives as predicates, (hěn) and (fēicháng), and adjective + (le) are on the AQA GCSE Chinese specification at Foundation and Higher tier.

What to do next

  1. Do the drill below until (wǒ hěn lěng) comes out without a .
  2. Read adjectives before nouns.
  3. Then 不 (bù) and 没 (méi) for every other negative.

Practise: test yourself

Sort into groups

0/7

Does the sentence need 是 (shì)? A noun after the subject takes 是; an adjective takes none.

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Pick the right one

0/6

很 (hěn) for a plain positive statement, 不 (bù) for the negative.

  1. 我 冷。 (I'm cold.)

    wǒ ___ lěng 。 (I'm cold.)

  2. 这个 好。 (This one isn't good.)

    zhè ge ___ hǎo 。 (This one isn't good.)

  3. 今天 忙。 (Today is busy.)

    jīn tiān ___ máng 。 (Today is busy.)

  4. 我 累。 (I'm not tired.)

    wǒ ___ lèi 。 (I'm not tired.)

  5. 中文 难。 (Chinese isn't hard.)

    zhōng wén ___ nán 。 (Chinese isn't hard.)

  6. 他 高。 (He's tall.)

    tā ___ gāo 。 (He's tall.)

Spot the mistake

0/4

Each sentence has one mistake. Tap it.

  1. wǒ shì lèi 。

  2. zhè ge méi guì 。

  3. tā hěn shì lǎo shī 。

  4. zhōng wén shì nán 。

Put the words in order

0/3

Put the words in order.

  1. I'm very tired today.

    Your sentence is empty.

  2. Chinese isn't hard.

    Your sentence is empty.

  3. It isn't dark yet.

    Your sentence is empty.

Matching

0/5

Match each sentence to its English.

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Practice worksheets and infographics

Practice worksheets with answer keys built in, plus infographic and listicle formats. Open any one to view, print or save.

Infographics

  1. Key points infographic
  2. The whole picture
  3. The core principle
  4. The 很 (hěn) filler
  5. When you really mean "very"
  6. Negation: 不 (bù), not 没 (méi)
  7. Adjective + 了 (le): things have changed
  8. Adjective + verb: 好吃 (hǎochī) and friends
  9. Mistakes English speakers make

Other formats

  1. Listicle

More grammar on this course

Frequently asked questions

Why don't you use (shì) with adjectives in Mandarin?
Because Mandarin adjectives already work as verbs: (lěng) means 'to be cold', so (wǒ hěn lěng) is a complete sentence, 'I'm cold'. (shì) links a noun to a noun (, wǒ shì lǎoshī, I am a teacher); putting it before an adjective, as in , is the classic beginner error.
Why does (hěn) appear before so many Mandarin adjectives?
In a plain statement a bare adjective sounds like a comparison is coming: (tā gāo) implies 'he is the tall one'. (hěn) fills the slot and makes it a neutral description, (tā hěn gāo, he's tall), and in that role it barely means 'very'. When you actually mean 'very', use (fēicháng) or (tài)... (le).
How do you make a Mandarin adjective negative?
Put (bù) in front and drop (hěn): (wǒ bù lěng, I'm not cold), (zhège bú guì, this isn't expensive). (méi) only appears when you are denying a change, as in (tiān hái méi hēi, it hasn't got dark yet).
When do you need (de) between an adjective and a noun?
Common one-syllable adjectives usually attach directly: (dà fángzi, a big house), (xīn chē, a new car). Two-syllable adjectives and anything with (hěn) in front usually take (de): (piàoliang de yīfu, pretty clothes), (hěn guì de shǒujī, a very expensive phone). The full rules are on the page about adjectives before nouns.
What does adjective + (le) mean?
A new state, or a limit passed: (tiān hēi le), it has got dark; (tài guì le), it's too expensive. here does not mean the past; it says the situation is now different, or more than you want.