A field guide for learners
Chinese Stative Verbs
What English treats as adjectives, Chinese treats as a special kind of verb — one that describes a mood, the weather, an appearance, or a quality, without ever needing “to be” alongside it.
The concept
What Is a Stative Verb?
Stative verbs — also called Chinese adjectives — describe mood, weather, appearance, or characteristics on their own.
累累tired
漂亮漂亮pretty
熱热hot
開心开心happy
難過难过sad
興奮兴奋excitedThe gap with English
The Difference Between Chinese and English
In English, describing someone needs “be + adjective” — “She is pretty.” In Chinese, stative verbs already function as verbs on their own, so there’s no “be” to add — ✗ 她是漂亮她是漂亮 is not correct Chinese.
她漂亮 (tā piàoliang) is the literal translation of “She is pretty” — but there’s a catch. A stative verb usually needs a degree adverb (like 很 hěn) to sound natural, unless you’re asking a question or making a comparison. So the version people actually say is:
Note
Leave the degree adverb out entirely, and a bare stative verb as the predicate tends to sound like a comparison — even if you never say so directly.
A common question
But I Want to Say She “Is” Pretty, Not “Very” Pretty
Dictionaries often translate 很 hěn as “very,” but in everyday speech it doesn’t carry nearly that much weight. To genuinely emphasize something, reach for 非常 fēicháng instead. If you just want to state that someone is pretty, without stressing the degree, 很 hěn is the right, unremarkable choice.
The full toolkit
Other Adverbs You Can Use
These seven words sit on a single scale, from negating the quality entirely to pushing past its limit. Drag the slider to feel where each one lands.
Note
有一点 yǒu yìdiǎn pairs naturally with negative-leaning adjectives — a small degree of something unpleasant. It’s not idiomatic with positive ones: 有一点好 (“a little bit good”) sounds off to a native ear in most contexts.
