Do you know how to describe something as good or bad in Chinese? |
Welcome to Three Step Chinese Practice by ChineseClass101.com. In this lesson, you will practice affirmative and negative sentences with adjectives. |
Let's look at the main dialogue. |
Two people are having a conversation. |
我喜欢便宜一点的。你推荐哪个电脑?(Wǒ xǐhuān piányí yìdiǎn de. Nǐ tuījiàn nǎge diànnǎo?) |
"I like the cheaper one. Which computer do you recommend?" |
那个怎么样?(Nàgè zěnme yàng?) |
"How about that one?" |
那个太贵了。那个电脑快吗?(Nàgè tài guìle. Nàgè diànnǎo kuài ma?) |
"That one is too expensive. Is that computer fast?" |
In the sentence 那个太贵了 (Nàgè tài guì le) — "That one is too expensive" — |
we see the pattern: [Intensifier] + [Adjective] |
太 (tài) means "too" |
贵 (guì) means "expensive" |
And 了 (le) adds emphasis or shows a change of state. |
This structure is used to express strong opinions or reactions, both positive and negative. |
Now, just a quick reminder about intensifiers in Chinese. |
很 means "very." It's the default way to connect a subject and an adjective — even if you're not stressing the meaning. |
非常 means "extremely." It's stronger than 很 and adds more emphasis. |
And 太 means "too," as in "too expensive" or "too big." It often comes with 了 to show a strong feeling. |
You'll hear these often, so just listen for them when people describe things. |
You can also make this kind of sentence negative using 不 (bù): |
For example: |
这个电脑不太快。 (Zhège diànnǎo bù tài kuài.) |
"This computer is not very fast." |
不太 (bù tài) softens the sentence and makes it more polite. |
Instead of saying something is simply "not good," you're saying it's "not very good" — a gentler way to express your opinion. |
Let's keep going and practice describing things using intensifiers and adjectives. |
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