Chinese - Adverbs (副词)
Chinese adverbs are the key to adding nuance, intensity, and precision to your sentences.
Since verbs don't conjugate for tense, Chinese relies heavily on adverbs (like "always," "already," "not," "very") to establish time, frequency, and degree.
1. The Golden Rule of Placement
Adverbs in Chinese generally follow a strict placement rule, which is the most important concept to master.
Adverbs always come before the verb (or the adjective serving as the predicate).
- Structure: Subject + Adverb + Verb/Adjective + (Object)
| Type of Adverb | Example | Sentence Structure | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | 已经 (yǐjīng - already) | 我 已经 吃 饭 了。 | I already ate. |
| Frequency | 常常 (chángcháng - often) | 她 常常 去 北京。 | She often goes to Beijing. |
| Degree | 非常 (fēicháng - very) | 这件衣服 非常 漂亮。 | This piece of clothing is very beautiful. |
| Scope | 都 (dōu - all/both) | 我们 都 是 学生。 | We all are students. |
2. Adverbs of Negation and Possibility
These are fundamental and always precede the verb or the modal verb.
| Adverb | Function | Placement | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 不 (bù) | Negates present/future actions, states, and intentions. | Before the Verb/Adjective. | 我 不 想 去。 (Wǒ bù xiǎng qù.) — I don't want to go. |
| 没/没有 (méi/méiyǒu) | Negates existence/possession, or a completed/past action. | Before the Verb/Noun. | 我 没 吃 饭。 (Wǒ méi chī fàn.) — I didn't eat. |
| 别 (bié) | Prohibits an action (Don't do X!). | Before the Verb. | 别 走! (Bié zǒu!) — Don't go! |
| 难道 (nándào) | Rhetorical question (Don't tell me.../Could it be that...). | Before the Verb/S-P. | 难道 你 不 知道 吗? (Nándào nǐ bù zhīdào ma?) — Don't you mean you don't know? |
3. Adverbs of Degree and Intensity
These are used to intensify an adjective or a verb (often a psychological verb, like "love" or "like").
| Adverb | Meaning | Intensity | Example Sentence | | :--------------------- | :----------------------------------------- | :-------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | 有点儿 (yǒudiǎnr) | A little bit (often with a negative tone). | Low | 今天 有点儿 冷。 (Jīntiān yǒudiǎnr lěng.) — It's a little cold today. | | 很 (hěn) | Quite, very (The neutral placeholder). | Medium | 她 很 喜欢 学习。 | She likes studying a lot. | | 非常 (fēicháng) | Extremely, very (Standard high degree). | High | 我 非常 感谢 你。 | I am very grateful to you. | | 特别 (tèbié) | Especially, particularly. | High | 这个 菜 特别 好吃。 | This dish is especially delicious. | | 太...了 (tài...le) | Too (much), excessively. | Extreme | 这个 电影 太 好看 了! | This movie is too good! |
4. Adverbs of Time and Frequency
These establish when and how often an action happens. They typically have flexible placement.
| Adverb | Meaning | Placement | Example Sentence | | :----------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------- | :--------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | 已经 (yǐjīng) | Already. | Before the verb. | 我 已经 完成 了。 (Wǒ yǐjīng wánchéng le.) — I already finished. | | 才 (cái) | Only then, not until (Indicates a late time or difficulty). | Before the verb. | 他 晚上 十点 才 回家。 | He didn't go home until 10 PM. | | 就 (jiù) | Early, precisely (Indicates promptness or ease). | Before the verb. | 他 早上 六点 就 起床 了。 | He got up as early as 6 AM. | | 总是 (zǒngshì) | Always. | Before the verb. | 她 总是 帮助 别人。 | She always helps others. | | 再 (zài) | Again, in the future (Non-repetitive). | Before the verb. | 我们 再 见。 (Wǒmen zài jiàn.) — See you again (later). |
5. Adverbs of Scope and Extent
These adverbs clarify "who" or "what extent" an action or state applies to.
| Adverb | Meaning | Function | Example Sentence | | :-------------- | :------------------- | :--------------------------------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | | 都 (dōu) | All, both, entirely. | Applies to a plural subject or multiple items. | 我们 都 去。 (Wǒmen dōu qù.) — All of us are going. | | 也 (yě) | Also, too. | Connects parallel actions or states. | 我 也 喜欢 咖啡。 (Wǒ yě xǐhuān kāfēi.) — I also like coffee. | | 只 (zhǐ) | Only, merely. | Limits the scope of the verb. | 我 只 想 吃 饺子。 (Wǒ zhǐ xiǎng chī jiǎozi.) — I only want to eat dumplings. | | 一起 (yīqǐ) | Together. | Denotes a shared action. | 我们 一起 学习 汉语。 | We study Chinese together. |
6. Adverbs in Advanced Structures
These adverbs are crucial for creating complex and nuanced sentences.
| Adverb | Function | Structure | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 反而 (fǎn'ér) | On the contrary, instead. | 反而 emphasizes a result that is the opposite of what was expected. | 我 以为 会 输，反而 赢 了。 (I thought we would lose, but instead we won.) |
| 竟然 (jìngrán) | Unexpectedly, surprisingly. | 竟然 expresses surprise that an action or situation occurred. | 他 竟然 忘记 了 我 的 生日! (He unexpectedly forgot my birthday!) |
| 恐怕 (kǒngpà) | I'm afraid (that), probably. | Expresses a tentative, often negative, judgment or possibility. | 恐怕 我们 赶不上 飞机 了。 (I'm afraid we can't catch the plane.) |