…的【de】

the one, the red one, ones, mine, something to eat, nominalizer, noun omitted, de

With the noun left off, a phrase + 的 stands for the thing itself, "the one": ，。 is "I don't want the red one, I want the blue one".

HSK 3

AI-generated

Structure

[adjective] / [verb phrase] / [noun] + 的

[subject] + 是 + [adjective] / [verb phrase] + 的

Description

When the noun is obvious, it can drop and 的 stays behind: the phrase + 的 then means "the one that…" or "the thing that…". English needs "one" or "ones"; Chinese doesn't.

，。

I don't want the red one, I want the blue one.

，？

This one's too small – do you have a bigger one?

Any modifier that can go before a noun with 的 can stand alone this way: an adjective, a pronoun, a clause.

。

This book is mine.

。

What I said is true.

。

The people who came are all my classmates.

× 我要一个红 → 我要一个红的
× 我不要红一个 → 我不要红的

Things to eat, drink and wear

吃的, 喝的, 穿的 and 用的 mean food, drink, clothes and things to use.

？

Is there anything to eat in the fridge?

。

I like sweet things.

People by what they do

Verb + object + 的 names a person by their work: 开出租车的, 卖菜的, 送快递的. It's casual; to address someone, 师傅 is politer.

。

He's a taxi driver.

是…的 for a kind

是 + adjective + 的 puts something into a class: new rather than old, hot rather than cold. 很 + adjective describes how much.

。

His phone is a new one.

。

His phone is very new.

Examples

，？