Possessives with '的' — Mandarin Grammar

The particle (de˙ㄉㄜtê) is one of the most common characters in the language. Its primary function is to indicate possession or a structural relationship between two words. It functions similarly to the English 's (as in "John's car") or the word of (as in "the capital of China").

The standard structure is:

Possessor + 的 (de) + Possessed Object

Creating Possessive Pronouns

To change a personal pronoun (like "I" or "you") into a possessive pronoun (like "my" or "your"), you simply add (de˙ㄉㄜtê) to the end of the pronoun.

(wǒㄨㄛˇwo3) - I becomes (wǒ·deㄨㄛˇ·˙ㄉㄜwo3·tê) - my
(nǐㄋㄧˇni3) - you becomes (nǐ·deㄋㄧˇ·˙ㄉㄜni3·tê) - your
(tāㄊㄚt'a1) - he becomes (tā·deㄊㄚ·˙ㄉㄜt'a1·tê) - his
(wǒ·menㄨㄛˇ·˙ㄇㄣwo3·mên) - we becomes (wǒ·men deㄨㄛˇ·˙ㄇㄣ ˙ㄉㄜwo3·mên tê) - our

这是我的书。
zhè shì wǒ·de shū.ㄓㄜˋ ㄕˋ ㄨㄛˇ·˙ㄉㄜㄕㄨ.chê4 shih4 wo3·tê shu1.
This is my book.
那是你的茶吗？
nà shì nǐ·de chá ma?ㄋㄚˋ ㄕˋ ㄋㄧˇ·˙ㄉㄜㄔㄚˊ ˙ㄇㄚ?na4 shih4 ni3·tê ch'a2 ma?
Is that your tea?

Possession with Names and Nouns

The same rule applies when the possessor is a specific person or a noun. You place (de˙ㄉㄜtê) after the owner and before the object being owned.

老师的手机。
lǎo·shī de shǒu·jī.ㄌㄠˇ·ㄕ ˙ㄉㄜㄕㄡˇ·ㄐㄧ.lao3·shih1 tê shou3·chi1.
The teacher's mobile phone.
王先生的车。
wáng xiān·sheng de chē.ㄨㄤˊ ㄒㄧㄢ·˙ㄕㄥ ˙ㄉㄜㄔㄜ.wang2 shien1·shêng tê ch'ê1.
Mr. Wang's car.
公司的电脑。
gōng·sī de diàn·nǎo.ㄍㄨㄥ·ㄙ ˙ㄉㄜㄉㄧㄢˋ·ㄋㄠˇ.kung1·ssŭ1 tê tien4·nao3.
The company's computer.

Omitting '的' in Close Relationships

While (de˙ㄉㄜtê) is usually required, it is frequently omitted when the relationship between the possessor and the object is very close or permanent. This is most common with:

Close family members (mom, dad, brother).
Personal institutions (home, school, country).
Body parts.

In these cases, using (de˙ㄉㄜtê) is not grammatically wrong, but omitting it sounds more natural and fluent.

我妈妈是中国人。
wǒ mā·ma shì zhōng·guó rén.ㄨㄛˇ ㄇㄚ·˙ㄇㄚㄕˋ ㄓㄨㄥ·ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄖㄣˊ.wo3 ma1·ma shih4 chung1·ko2 jên2.
My mom is Chinese.
他哥哥很高。
tā gē·ge hěn gāo.ㄊㄚㄍㄜ·˙ㄍㄜㄏㄣˇ ㄍㄠ.t'a1 ko1·ko hên3 kao1.
His older brother is tall.
我们家在上海。
wǒ·men jiā zài shàng·hǎi.ㄨㄛˇ·˙ㄇㄣㄐㄧㄚㄗㄞˋ ㄕㄤˋ·ㄏㄞˇ.wo3·mên chia1 tsai4 shang4·hai3.
Our home is in Shanghai.

Describing Nouns (Attributive Use)

Beyond simple ownership, (de˙ㄉㄜtê) is used to connect a description (adjective) to a noun. It acts as a bridge between the quality and the object. If an adjective consists of two or more syllables, (de˙ㄉㄜtê) is almost always used.

很好的朋友。
hěn hǎo de péng·you.ㄏㄣˇ ㄏㄠˇ ˙ㄉㄜㄆㄥˊ·˙ㄧㄡ.hên3 hao3 tê p'êng2·yu.
A very good friend.
红色的苹果。
hóng·sè de píng·guǒ.ㄏㄨㄥˊ·ㄙㄜˋ ˙ㄉㄜㄆㄧㄥˊ·ㄍㄨㄛˇ.hung2·ssê4 tê p'ing2·ko3.
Red apple.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Mandarin course

86 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 2. A few of them, with the words “Possessives with '的'” is about in bold:

这是我的朋友,安娜。她是一位学生。
zhè shì wǒ·de péng·you, ān·nà. tā shì yī wèi xué·sheng.ㄓㄜˋ ㄕˋ ㄨㄛˇ·˙ㄉㄜㄆㄥˊ·˙ㄧㄡ, ㄢ·ㄋㄚˋ. ㄊㄚㄕˋ ㄧㄨㄟˋ ㄒㄩㄝˊ·˙ㄕㄥ.chê4 shih4 wo3·tê p'êng2·yu, an1·na4. t'a1 shih4 yi1 wei4 shüeh2·shêng.
This is my friend, Anna. She is a student.
Lesson 2
我的第一印象是她很聪明。
wǒ·de dì yī yìn·xiàng shì tā hěn cōng·ming.ㄨㄛˇ·˙ㄉㄜㄉㄧˋ ㄧㄧㄣˋ·ㄒㄧㄤˋ ㄕˋ ㄊㄚㄏㄣˇ ㄘㄨㄥ·˙ㄇㄧㄥ.wo3·tê ti4 yi1 yin4·shiang4 shih4 t'a1 hên3 tz'ung1·ming.
My first impression is that she is very smart.
Lesson 333
那个婴儿的鼻子很可爱。
nà gè yīng·ér de bí·zi hěn kě·ài.ㄋㄚˋ ㄍㄜˋ ㄧㄥ·ㄦˊ ˙ㄉㄜㄅㄧˊ·˙ㄗㄏㄣˇ ㄎㄜˇ·ㄞˋ.na4 ko4 ying1·êrh2 tê pi2·tsŭ hên3 k'o3·ai4.
That baby has a cute nose.
Lesson 389

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