How to Say "Adjective" in Chinese

形容词

xíngróngcí

The Chinese word for "adjective" is 形容词 (xíngróngcí).

In linguistics, 形容词 refers to a word that modifies a noun or describes a noun's referent.

Meaning: (grammar) a word that modifies a noun or describes a noun’s referent (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The term is composed of 形容, which means "to describe" or "to portray" and 词, which means "word" or "term".

As a noun, 形容词 does not change its form for case or plurality.

xíngróngcí

Chinese allows for 'reduplication' of 形容词, where a word is repeated, such as 红红的 (hóng hóng de). This is often used to add an emotional tone or to make the description sound more vivid and cute.
In Chinese, many words that function as 形容词 can also act as verbs without any change in form. For example, the word for 'red' can mean 'to turn red' depending on its position in the sentence.
Unlike English, where adjectives like 'very' modify adjectives, Chinese often uses the particle 很 (hěn) before an 形容词. Without this particle, the sentence can sound like a direct comparison rather than a simple description.

在这种情况下，形容词放在名词前面。
In this case, the adjective goes before the noun.
This sentence is useful for learning the position of 形容词 relative to a noun.
Tatoeba #5556077 by verdastelo9604, translation #2267280 by _undertoad
不够后面要再加个形容词
You have to put an adjective after "不够."
This sentence shows how to use 形容词 when adding descriptors to a phrase.
Tatoeba #1622313 by ThatHorse, translation #1622371 by ThatHorse
这个形容词是用来形容女人的。
This adjective is used to describe women.
This sentence illustrates how an 形容词 can be used to describe a specific subject.
Tatoeba #1182065 by sysko, translation #12980233 by rul

Two students are discussing their Chinese homework in a cafe.

晓雯 Xiaowen

志强，你知道这个形容词怎么用吗？
zhì qiáng, nǐ zhī dào zhè ge xíng róng cí zěn me yòng ma?
Zhiqiang, do you know how to use this adjective?
志强 Zhiqiang

这个形容词通常放在名词前面。
zhè ge xíng róng cí tōng cháng fàng zài míng cí qián miàn.
This adjective is usually placed before the noun.
晓雯 Xiaowen

原来是这样，谢谢你。
yuán lái shì zhè yàng, xiè xiè nǐ.
I see, thank you.
志强 Zhiqiang

不客气，晓雯。
bú kè qi, xiǎo wén.
You're welcome, Xiaowen.

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