Language/Yue-chinese/Grammar/Describing-People-and-Things
As a Yue Chinese language teacher with 20 years of experience, I often receive questions about how to describe people and things in the language. Today, we will be focusing on the use of adjectives in Yue Chinese to do just that. Adjectives are words that describe a person, place, thing, or idea.
Here's an outline of what we will cover in this lesson:
- What are adjectives?
- Adjectives for describing people
- Physical appearance
- Personality
- Adjectives for describing things
- Colors
- Size
- Shape
Let's begin!
- What are adjectives?
Adjectives in Yue Chinese play an important role in sentence structure. They usually come before the noun and can be used to describe its color, size, shape, condition, and many other attributes. Adjectives in Yue Chinese are typically formed by adding a descriptive word after the noun. For example, to describe a blue car, we can say "藍色嘅汽車" (laam4 sik1 ge3 hei3 ce1) where "藍色" (laam4 sik1) means blue and "嘅" (ge3) is a particle used to indicate possession between the adjective and the noun.
- Adjectives for describing people
- Physical appearance
When describing someone's physical appearance, there are a range of adjectives in Yue Chinese that you can use. Here are a few:
| Yue Chinese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| 有黑髮嘅人 | jau5 hak1 faat3 ge3 jan4 | person with black hair |
| 白皙嘅皮膚 | baak6 sik1 ge3 pei4 fu1 | fair skin |
| 高鼻樑 | gou1 bei6 loeng4 | high nose bridge |
| 大眼睛 | daai6 ngaan5 jing1 | big eyes |
| 瘦嘅身材 | sau3 ge3 san1 coi4 | slim figure |
- Personality
When it comes to describing someone's personality traits or characteristics, there are also many adjectives you can use. Here are a few:
| Yue Chinese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| 開朗 | hoi1 long5 | outgoing |
| 勤奮 | kan4 fan4 | hardworking |
| 謙虛 | him1 hyu1 | humble |
| 有禮貌 | jau5 lai5 maau6 | polite |
| 友善 | jau5 sin6 | friendly |
- Adjectives for describing things
- Colors
One of the most common ways to use adjectives in Yue Chinese is to describe colors. Here are some of the most common colors along with their corresponding adjectives:
| Yue Chinese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| 紅色 | hung4 sik1 | red |
| 橙色 | caang2 sik1 | orange |
| 黃色 | wong4 sik1 | yellow |
| 綠色 | luk6 sik1 | green |
| 藍色 | laam4 sik1 | blue |
| 紫色 | zi2 sik1 | purple |
| 粉紅色 | fan2 hung4 sik1 | pink |
- Size
Adjectives can also be used to describe things in terms of their size. Here are some common adjectives for size in Yue Chinese:
| Yue Chinese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| 大 | daai6 | big |
| 小 | siu2 | small |
| 長 | coeng4 | long |
| 短 | dyun2 | short |
| 厚 | hau5 | thick |
| 薄 | bok6 | thin |
| 肥 | fei4 | fat |
| 瘦 | sau3 | thin (slim) |
- Shape
Lastly, adjectives can be used to describe the shape of things. Here are some of the most common shapes along with their corresponding adjectives:
| Yue Chinese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| 圓形 | jyun4 jing4 | round |
| 正方形 | zing3 fong1 jing4 | square |
| 三角形 | saam1 gok3 jing4 | triangle |
| 長方形 | coeng4 fong1 jing4 | rectangular |
| 橢圓形 | to3 jyun4 jing4 | oval |
| 不規則形 | bat1 kwai1 jak1 jing4 | irregular |
In conclusion, adjectives are a fundamental part of describing people, places or things in Yue Chinese. They form an essential component of the sentence structure and can convey a vast range of meanings by describing attributes such as color, size or shape. So don't hesitate to use adjectives whenever you want to describe something in Yue Chinese as it can add a great deal of richness and precision to your language skills. Good luck!