(de) - of, possessive and modifier particle in Mandarin
deTraditional: 的
Translation
of, possessive and modifier particle
Word origin
的 is a phono-semantic compound: 白 (white) is the meaning element and 勺 (sháo) the phonetic. It originally referred to a bright target or bullseye, then was borrowed as the very common possessive and modifier particle 'de'.
- Origin
- phono-semantic compound
- Root
- 白 (bái, white) + 勺 (sháo, phonetic)
Stroke order
的
Examples
。
This is my book.
。
Her mother is very nice.
红。
The red car is very pretty.
椅。
This is the teacher's chair.
乱。
My elder brother's room is very messy.
的 (de) is the most common particle in Mandarin, marking possession and modification.
Appears in 8 words
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 的.
Used in
Stories
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Grammar articles
(26)Mandarin Adjectives as Stative Verbs: Why 'I Am Cold' Is 我冷, Not 我是冷
Mandarin Advanced Grammar (C1-C2 / HSK 6+): Chengyu, Classical Remnants, and Register
The Mandarin 被 (bèi) Passive: Saying Something Was Done To the Subject
Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Mandarin Comparatives: 比, 比较, 最, 跟…一样 and How to Say 'More', 'Most', 'Same As'
Mandarin Complements: 得 for Manner, Directional Endings, and How to Attach a Result to a Verb
Mandarin Conjunctions: 虽然…但是, 因为…所以, 如果…就 and the Paired Structures That Join Clauses
The Mandarin Copula 是 (shì): To Be, and When to Leave It Out
Duration Complements in Mandarin (时量补语): How to Say How Long an Action Lasts
The Mandarin Durative 着 (zhe): Marking a State That Continues (门开着, 拿着书, 笑着说)
Mandarin Existential and Presentative Sentences: 有, 出现, 发生 and Why New Things Go After the Verb
Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
Mandarin Location and Existence: 在 for Where, 有 for There Is, and the 上/下/里/外 Position Words
Mandarin Modal Verbs: 会, 想, 要, 应该, 可以, 能 and the Future-Intent Words 打算, 准备
Mandarin Possession with 的 (de): My, Your, His, and When Mandarin Drops the Particle
Mandarin Potential Complements: Can You Reach the Result? (吃得完, 听不懂, 买不起)
Mandarin Question Formation: 吗, V-Not-V, 还是, and the In-Situ Wh-Word System
Mandarin Relative Clauses with 的 (de): How the Modifier Goes Before the Noun
Mandarin Requests and Imperatives: 请, 别, 不要, the Softening Particles 吧/啊, and Verb Reduplication
Mandarin Resultative Complements: Fusing a Result onto the Verb (看见, 吃完, 找到)
The Mandarin 是…的 (shì...de) Construction: Highlighting When, Where, and How Something Happened
The Three de in Mandarin: 的, 得, and 地 and How to Tell Them Apart
Topic-Comment Structure in Mandarin: Fronting 这本书我看过 and Why Word Order Bends
Mandarin Verb-Object Verbs: Why 'To Eat' Is 吃饭 and How It Splits Apart
Mandarin Word Order: SVO, Topic-Comment, and the 把 Construction That Reorders Everything
Yes-No Questions in Mandarin: 吗 (ma), Echo Answers, and the Bounce-Back 呢 (ne)
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