Lesson 13 - Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe nouns. In Mandarin, Adjectives are called "形容词" (xing2 rong2 ci2), where "形容" means "describe".

Let's first learn some adjectives!

1. 大 (da4) - big, large

2. 小 (xiao3) - small

3. 远 (yuan3) - far

4. 近 (jin4) - near

5. 快 (kuai4) - fast

6. 慢 (man4) - slow

7. 美 (mei3) - beautiful, pretty

8. 丑 (chou3) - ugly

9. 好 (hao3) - good

10. 坏 (huai4) - bad, damaged

11. 新 (xin1) - new

12. 旧 (jiu4) - old

13. 冷 (leng3) - cold

14. 热 (re4) - hot

15. 干 (gan1) - dry

16. 湿 (shi1) - wet

17. 高 (gao1) - tall, high

18. 矮 (ai3) - short (height)

19. 低 (di1) - low (height)

20. 长 (chang2) - long (length, distance)

21. 短 (duan3) - short (length, distance)

22. 瘦 (shou4) - thin

23. 肥 (fei2) - fat (for animals)

24. 胖 (pang4) - fat (for humans)
25. 轻 (qing1) - light-weight
26. 重 (zhong4) - heavy
27. 年轻 (nian2 qing1) - young age
28. 老 (lao3) - old age

Let's see how it is used.

To express attributively, such as "a tall giraffe", "a wet day", "a good idea", attach "的" behind the adjective, and insert it in front of the noun. 
For example,

1. 这 是 一个 新的 桌子。 (zhe4 shi4 yi1 ge4 xin1 de4 zhuo1 zi3) - This is a new table.
2. 那 是 一个 大的 盘。(na4 shi4 yi1 ge4 da1 de4 pan2) - That is a big plate.

In Mandarin, it is more common to express adjectives predicatively, such as "The giraffe is tall, The idea is good, The day is wet". 

To do so, simply add 是(shi4) in between the "adjective + 的", behind the noun. For example,

1. 这件 衣服 是 大的。(zhe4 jian4 yi1 fu2 shi4 da4 de4) - This clothes is big (size).
2. 这个 水 是 冷的。(zhe4 ge4 shui3 shi4 leng3 de4) - This water is cold.
3. 那只 猪 是 肥的。(na4 zhi1 zhu1 shi4 fei2 de4) - That pig is fat.

To express "quite" or "very", simply add "很" (hen3) in front of the adjective and attach it behind the noun.

In Mandarin, it is rather common to use this expression even if you do not mean "quite" or "very" at all. It is more common than the ways outlined earlier. Although nothing wrong, to sound natural, you should try to always use this expression even if you do not mean "very" or "quite".

1. 老虎 很快。(lao3 hu3 hen3 kuai4) - Tigers are (very) fast.
2. 他 很高。(ta1 hen3 gao1) - He is (very) tall.
3. 这支 笔 很短。(zhe4 zhi1 bi3 hen3 duan3) - This pencil is (very) short.
4. 距离 很近。(ju4 li2 hen3 jin4) - The distance (距离 ju4 li2) is (very) near (short).
5. 我 的 学校 很远。(wo3 de4 xue2 xiao4 hen3 yuan3) - My school is (very) far.

To express comparatively, such as "Tim is taller than John", use the following context.

[Noun 1] is [Adjective] than [Noun 2]
[Noun 1] 比 (bi3) [Noun 2] 更(geng4)[Adjective]

For example,

1. 我 比 你 更高。(wo3 bi3 ni3 geng4 gao1) - I am taller than you.
2. 小丽 比 小美 更美。(xiao3 li4 bi3 xiao3 mei3 geng4 mei3) - Xiao-Li is more beautiful than Xiao-Mei.
3. 这碗 饭 比 冰 更冷。(zhe4 wan3 fan4 bi3 bing1 geng4 leng4) - This bowl of rice is colder than ice (冰 bing1).
4. 他 比 我 更大。(ta1 bi3 wo3 geng4 da4) - He is older (larger) than me.

You can also substitute the word "更" (geng4) with "还" (hai2) and mean the same thing.
Or better, you can leave out the word and use the adjective on its own, and people will still understand.

1. 我 比 你 高。(wo3 bi3 ni3 gao1) - I am taller than you.
2. 我 比 你 还高。(wo3 bi3 ni3 hai2 gao1) - I am taller than you.

To express superlatively, such as "The tallest animal", use the following context.
The most [adjective] [noun]
最(zui4)[adjective] 的(de4) [noun]
OR
[noun] is the most [adjective][noun2]
[noun] 是 最(zui4)[adjective] 的(de4)[noun2]

For example,

1. 最高 的 人。(zui4 gao1 de4 ren2) - The tallest person (最高 is the same in Japanese (さいこう) and Korean (최고), however it does not mean 'best' colloquially like in Jp and Kr.)
2. 乌龟 是 最慢 的 动物。(wu1 gui1 shi4 zui4 man4 de4 dong4 wu4) - Tortoises (乌龟wu1 gui1) are the slowest animal.
3. 他 是 在 这里 最矮 的 人。(ta1 shi4 zai4 zhe4 li3 zui4 ai3 de4 ren2) - He is the shortest person here.
4. 这张 报纸 是 最新 的。(zhe4 zhang1 bao4 zhi3 shi4 zui4 xin1 de4) - This set of newspapers (报纸 bao4 zhi3) is the newest.

Now you can try making your own sentences!