Chinese Grammar Bank
HOW TO USE 极了
In this short lesson, we will look at how to use 极了 in Chinese to intensify positive adjectives.
极了 is something you’ll hear very often in spoken Chinese, especially amongst the younger generations.
HOW TO USE 极了 | STRUCTURE
Just as with “死了”, “极了” is also a kind of degree complement. It is mainly used to strengthen your tone and intensify the meaning of the positive adjective you are using.
You can think of “极了” as meaning “extremely” or “very”. The sentence structure goes like this:
PATTERN
Subject + Adjective + 极了
Note that you need to pair “极” with “了” in this pattern, otherwise that would be incorrect.
Some examples with a positive connotation:
这道菜好吃极了 !
This dish is delicious!教室安静极了。
The classroom was very quiet.View More Phrases
| CHINESE | PINYIN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| 夜晚的广场热闹极了! | yè wǎn de guǎng chǎng rè nào jí le | The square is very lively at night! |
| 我今天高兴极了! | wǒ jīn tiān gāo xìng jí le | I am so happy today! |
| 这个想法好极了! | zhè gè xiǎng fǎ hǎo jí le | Great idea! |
| 他的成绩好极了。 | tā de chéng jì hǎo jí le | His grades are excellent. |
| 你看起来漂亮极了! | nǐ kàn qǐ lái piāo liàng jí le | You look so beautiful! |
HOW TO USE 极了 WITH NEGATIVE ADJECTIVES
As you can see from these examples, using “极了” can take your positive adjectives to the extreme!
For negative adjectives, the 死了(sǐle) structure will be preferred, but sometimes, “极了” can also be used to qualify both positive and derogatory adjectives.
Let’s see some examples with a negative connotation:
他真是讨厌极了!
He is so disgusting!这杯啤酒难喝极了。
This beer is horrible.View More Phrases
| CHINESE | PINYIN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| 听了这件事，我难过极了。 | tīng le zhè jiàn shì，wǒ nán guò jí le | I was so sad to hear this. |
| 这次活动无聊极了。 | zhè cì huó dòng wú liáo jí le | This event was so boring. |
| 这张海报难看极了。 | zhè zhāng hǎi bào nán kàn jí le | This poster is so ugly. |
| 他写的文章糟糕极了。 | tā xiě de wén zhāng zāo gāo jí le | His writing is so terrible. |
| 这种技术复杂极了。 | zhè zhǒng jìshù fùzá jíle. | This technology is incredibly complex. |
| 这件事让我们都尴尬极了。 | zhè jiàn shì ràng wǒ men dōu gān gà jí le | We are all embarrassed by this. |
COMMON MISTAKES WITH 极了 IN CHINESE
It’s true that “极了” works with a wide range of adjectives, but don’t take for granted that it’ll work with all the adjectives.
Though there’s no grammar rule about this, you do need to note some expression habits in Chinese. For instance, if you want to say that something is urgent, then you can’t say:
- 这件事紧急极了。❌
- zhè jiàn shì jǐn jí jí le
This is because the Chinese characters “急” and “极” have the same pronunciation. It would sound weird if you combined the two characters. So instead, you can use the phrase “非常”：
- 这件事非常紧急。
- zhè jiàn shì fēi cháng jǐn jí
- This affair is very urgent.
Anyway, you can avoid this kind of mistake by observing when native speakers use the phrase “极了”. That is an efficient way to make you sound more idiomatic and vivid!
Learn Mandarin with Flexi Classes
Book online classes with the best teachers in the industry.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is 极了?
极了 is a degree complement mainly used to strengthen your tone and intensify the meaning of the positive adjective you are using.
How to pronounce 极了?
极了 is pronounced jí le.
How is 极了 used in Chinese?
极了 has about the same meaning as “extremely” or “very”.
The structure is:
Subject + Adjective + 极了
What are some examples with 极了?
这道菜好吃极了 ! zhè dào cài hǎo chī jí le | This dish is delicious!
听了这件事，我难过极了。tīng le zhè jiàn shì ，wǒ nán guò jí le | I was so sad to hear this.
他的成绩好极了。tā de chéng jì hǎo jí le | His grades are excellent.
What social platforms are you on?
Do you have other B1 grammar articles?
Yes we do!
You can find all of the articles on B1 level Chinese grammar in our Grammar Bank.