的 — particle "of
particle "of, -'s"
How to pronounce it
的 is read de. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
The most frequent character in Chinese.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “的”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 的. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 这是我的老师zhèshìwǒdelǎoshīThis is my teacher.
- 你的汉语很好！nǐdeHànyǔhěnhǎoYour Chinese is good!
- 这是我的女朋友zhèshìwǒdenǚpéngyouThis is my girlfriend.
- 这家店的东西很便宜zhèjiādiàndedōngxihěnpiányiEverything in this shop is cheap.
- 有的贵有的便宜yǒudeguì,yǒudepiányiSome are expensive, others are cheap.
- 我的书在哪儿wǒdeshūzàinǎrWhere's my book?
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Who is this?”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
What does 的 mean?
的 (de) means “particle "of, -'s"”.
How do you write 的?
的 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 的?
的 is read de. Tones: de — neutral tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“particle "of” in the lesson “Who is this?”
This word is from the topic “Meeting people” of HSK 1. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free