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HSK 1Particles

的(de)

Possessive / Modifier Particle

Structure Pattern

Modifier+的+Noun

Explanation

的 (de) is the most common particle in Chinese. Its primary function is to show possession (like "'s" in English) and to connect modifiers to nouns. Think of it as the glue between a describing word and the thing it describes. It can be omitted in close relationships (e.g., family members).

Example Sentences

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1
我的书

wǒ de shū

my book

2
妈妈的手机

māma de shǒujī

mom's phone

3
漂亮的花

piàoliang de huā

beautiful flower(s)

4
中国的历史很长。

Zhōngguó de lìshǐ hěn cháng.

China's history is long.

Common Mistakes

❌
❌

Common Mistake

我书

✅
✅

Correct Usage

我的书

info

When a pronoun (like '我' - I/me) possesses a noun (like '书' - book), 的 is almost always required to show possession. Omitting 的 here makes the sentence grammatically incorrect, as '我书' would sound like 'I book' or 'me book'.

particlebasicpossessionmodifier

Related Grammar Points

是HSK 1

To Be

shì

是 (shì) is one of the most fundamental verbs in Chinese. It functions like "to be" in English but is used specifically to link a subject to a noun or pronoun — NOT to an adjective. Unlike English, you don't use 是 to say "I am happy" (that uses 很 instead). Think of 是 as an equals sign: A 是 B means "A = B".

Sentence Structure4 examples

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