r/ChineseLanguage • u/unseasonedunflavored • Aug 24 '26

Grammar Help with when to use 的 / de

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hi everyone!
i’m fairly new to learning mandarin and right now i’m exclusively using HelloChinese. this might be stupid but i really don’t understand the difference between using 的 and not using it. any help is appreciated thank you so much 谢谢🙏🏻

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u/brjosk Aug 24 '26

(disclaimer: I am not fluent at all, but I did take a few years of Mandarin in high school)

I was taught that 的 signifies possession (like “hers” or “yours” or “Tim’s”)

I was also taught that it is sometimes omitted when speaking about someone close to you, like family members - “我爸爸” (but “我的爸爸” is also correct)

19

u/K4l3lK3nt Aug 24 '26

I was learning using Hello Chinese and I feel like it might have said this in one of the teacher talks!

1

u/unseasonedunflavored Aug 24 '26

i’ll keep my eyes open!! thank you🙏🏻

5

u/lizzysbennet Aug 25 '26

Check the Unit 3 grammar collection. It shows more about expressing possession using “de”.

Whenever you get the little purple cards pop up on the bottom left of a new word, I’ve found it is always a new grammar rule explaining how to use the character within the sentences. It’s super helpful to review when it pops up otherwise it can get confusing not knowing when or how to use the new character you’re learning as opposed to normal word characters.