Chinese Grammar Bank

HOW TO USE 地

Using 地 to turn adjectives into adverbs in Chinese is a piece of cake!

In this Chinese grammar lesson, we’ll explain how to turn an adjective into an adverb in Chinese and then we’ll give you some examples to see how to use it.

HOW TO USE 地 | STRUCTURE

Just like the suffix -ly in English, you can add “地” to convert adjectives into adverbs in Mandarin.

To be more specific, we put the character “地” between the verb and the adjective.

PATTERN

Subject + Adjective + 地 + Verb

As you can see, the “adjective + 地” is used to describe the verb after it. In other words, it acts like adverbs in the sentence.

Therefore, what you need to do is determine whether an adjective can be converted into an adverb to describe the action. Then you can add the “地” after it.

For instance, if you want to tell someone is walking slowly (like strolling), then you can put “地” behind the phrase “慢慢地 (slow).”

That’s how you turn an adjective (慢慢) into an adverb (慢慢地) by adding “地”:

他缓慢地走着。tā huǎn màn de zǒu zheHe is walking slowly.

HOW TO USE 地 | EXAMPLES

wǒ men kuài lè de dǎ qiú

我们快乐地打球。

We play basketball happily.
wǒ men chàng kuài de liáo tiān

我们畅快地聊天。

We chat freely.
View More Phrases
CHINESEPINYINENGLISH
小狗花园里大声地叫。xiǎo gǒu huā yuán lǐ dà shēng de jiàoThe dog barked loudly in the garden.
你应该更认真地对待工作。nǐ yīnggāi gèng rèn zhēn de duì dài gōngzuòYou should be taking your work more seriously.
小男孩激动地抱住我。xiǎo nán hái jī dòng de bào zhù wǒThe little boy hugged me in excitement.
听到新闻后，所有人都高兴地尖叫起来。tīng dào xīn wén hòu，suǒ yǒu rén dōu gāo xìng de jiān jiào qǐ láiAfter hearing the news, everyone screamed with joy.

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FAQs

How to turn adjectives into adverbs in Chinese?

Just like the suffix -ly in English, you can add “地” to convert adjectives into adverbs in Mandarin.

To be more specific, we put the character “地” between the verb and the adjective. The foundational sentence structure is:

What is the basic structure with 地 in Chinese?

You can use 地 to turn adjectives into adverbs in Chinese.

The foundational sentence structure is:

Subject + Adjective + 地 + Verb

What are some examples of sentences with 地?

他缓慢地走着。
tā huǎn màn dì zǒu zhe
He is walking slowly.

小狗花园里大声地叫。
xiǎo gǒu huā yuán lǐ dà shēng dì jiào
The dog barked loudly in the garden.

听到新闻后，所有人都高兴地尖叫起来。
tīng dào xīn wén hòu ，suǒ yǒu rén dōu gāo xìng dì jiān jiào qǐ lái
After hearing the news, everyone screamed with joy.

What HSK level do this grammar point correspond to?

The transformation of adjectives into adverbs with 地 is considered a fairly advanced grammar point.

You usually learn it around B1/HSK3 level.

Check out the HSK levels here.

Where can I find more Chinese grammar?

If you want to learn more Chinese grammar points, you can visit our Chinese Grammar Bank page.

There you will find a large number of grammar lessons for different levels of Chinese.

Do you have a lesson on duplicated adjectives in Chinese?

Yes we do!

This grammar point is very important because it is one of the most common peculiarities of Chinese grammar.

So if you want to learn this grammar point, check out our dedicated lesson.

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