{"id":1194,"date":"2022-07-16T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-16T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/?p=1194"},"modified":"2026-08-21T16:30:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T08:30:54","slug":"the-in-chinese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/","title":{"rendered":"How to express &#8220;the&#8221; in Chinese"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-white ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/#Using_Topic-Comment_Structure\" >Using Topic-Comment Structure<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/#Lets_Compare_Them\" >Let&#8217;s Compare Them<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/#Using_Demonstrative_Pronouns\" >Using Demonstrative Pronouns<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/#Using_Clear_Descriptions\" >Using Clear Descriptions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/#Strategies_Can_Combine\" >Strategies Can Combine<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/#Quick_Guide_Which_One_Should_You_Use\" >Quick Guide: Which One Should You Use?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:14px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<link rel=\"preconnect\" href=\"https:\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\">\n<link rel=\"preconnect\" href=\"https:\/\/fonts.gstatic.com\" crossorigin=\"\">\n<link href=\"https:\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\/css2?family=Cormorant+Garamond:ital,wght@0,400;0,500;0,600;1,500&amp;family=Noto+Serif+TC:wght@300;500;600&amp;family=Noto+Serif+SC:wght@300;500;600&amp;family=Jost:wght@400;500&amp;display=swap\" rel=\"stylesheet\">\n\n<style>\n\n  .odd-post{\n    --ink: #24221D;\n    --ink-soft: #726E64;\n    --jade: #3F5D52;\n    --jade-deep: #2B4038;\n    --gold: #A9843F;\n    --red: #A13D2C;\n    --hair: rgba(36,34,29,0.13);\n    --panel: #FAF9F5;\n\n    background: #FFFFFF;\n    color: var(--ink);\n    font-family: 'Jost', sans-serif;\n    font-weight: 400;\n    line-height: 1.75;\n    -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;\n    max-width: 680px;\n    margin: 0 auto;\npadding: 0 32px;\n  }\n\n  .odd-post *{ box-sizing: border-box; }\n  .odd-post ::selection{ background: var(--jade); color: #fff; }\n  .odd-post a{ color: var(--jade-deep); text-decoration-color: rgba(63,93,82,0.4); text-underline-offset: 3px; }\n  .odd-post a:hover{ text-decoration-color: var(--jade-deep); }\n\n  .odd-post ruby{ ruby-position: over; }\n  .odd-post ruby .rb{ font-family:'Noto Serif TC', serif; }\n  .odd-post ruby.lang-zh-CN .rb{ font-family:'Noto Serif SC', serif; }\n  .odd-post rt{\n    font-family:'Jost', sans-serif;\n    font-weight: 400;\n    font-size: 0.7em;\n    letter-spacing: 0.02em;\n    color: var(--ink-soft);\n  }\n  .odd-post .rb.hl{ color: var(--gold); font-weight: 700; }\n  .odd-post .rb.hl2{ color: var(--jade); font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-color: rgba(63,93,82,0.4); text-underline-offset: 3px; }\n\n  .odd-post .eyebrow{\n    font-family:'Jost', sans-serif;\n    font-size: 12px;\n    font-weight: 500;\n    letter-spacing: 0.24em;\n    text-transform: uppercase;\n    color: var(--gold);\n    margin: 0 0 26px;\n    text-align:center;\n  }\n\n  .odd-post .hero{ padding: 6px 0 0; text-align:center; }\n  .odd-post h1.hero-title{\n    font-family:'Cormorant Garamond', serif;\n    font-weight: 500;\n    font-style: italic;\n    font-size: clamp(28px, 5vw, 42px);\n    line-height: 1.18;\n    margin: 0 auto 6px;\n    max-width: 22ch;\n  }\n  .odd-post .brush{ display:block; width: 168px; height: 14px; margin: 6px auto 28px; }\n  .odd-post .hero-sub{ font-size: 16.5px; color: var(--ink-soft); max-width: 62ch; margin: 0 auto 40px; text-align:left; }\n\n  .odd-post .divider{ border-top: 1px solid var(--hair); border-bottom: 1px solid var(--hair); margin: 48px 0; }\n\n  .odd-post .section-eyebrow{\n    font-family:'Jost', sans-serif;\n    font-size: 11.5px;\n    font-weight: 500;\n    letter-spacing: 0.2em;\n    text-transform: uppercase;\n    color: var(--gold);\n    margin: 0 0 8px;\n  }\n  .odd-post .section-eyebrow:first-of-type{ margin-top: 40px !important; }\n  .odd-post h2.section-title{\n    font-family:'Cormorant Garamond', serif;\n    font-weight: 500;\n    font-style: italic;\n    font-size: clamp(22px, 3.2vw, 27px);\n    margin: 0 0 20px;\n    color: var(--jade-deep);\n  }\n  .odd-post h3.subsection-title{\n    font-family:'Cormorant Garamond', serif;\n    font-weight: 500;\n    font-style: italic;\n    font-size: 18.5px;\n    margin: 34px 0 14px;\n    color: var(--jade-deep);\n  }\n  .odd-post .odd-post .section-body p{ font-size: 15.5px; color: var(--ink); margin: 0 0 16px; }\n  .odd-post .section-body p b{ color: var(--jade-deep); }\n\n  .odd-post .example-list{ margin: 0 0 26px; }\n  .odd-post .example-row{ padding: 14px 0; border-top: 1px solid var(--hair); }\n  .odd-post .example-row:first-child{ border-top: none; }\n  .odd-post .example-row .zh-block{ font-size: 17px; display:block; margin-bottom: 4px; }\n  .odd-post .example-row .gloss{ color: var(--ink-soft); font-size: 14.5px; font-style: italic; font-family:'Cormorant Garamond', serif; }\n  .odd-post .example-row .note{ display:block; color: var(--ink-soft); font-size: 13px; margin-top: 4px; }\n\n  \/* Q&A compare block *\/\n  .odd-post .qa-pair{\n    display:flex;\n    gap: 26px;\n    flex-wrap: wrap;\n    margin: 0 0 30px;\n  }\n  .odd-post .qa-pair > div{ flex: 1 1 260px; }\n  .odd-post .qa-label{\n    font-family:'Jost', sans-serif;\n    font-size: 11px;\n    letter-spacing: 0.1em;\n    text-transform: uppercase;\n    color: var(--gold);\n    margin-bottom: 10px;\n  }\n  .odd-post .qa-line{ margin-bottom: 10px; }\n  .odd-post .qa-line .who{\n    font-family:'Jost', sans-serif;\n    font-size: 11px;\n    font-weight: 600;\n    color: var(--ink-soft);\n    display:block;\n    margin-bottom: 3px;\n  }\n  .odd-post .qa-line .zh-block{ font-size: 16.5px; display:block; margin-bottom: 2px; }\n  .odd-post .qa-line .gloss{ color: var(--ink-soft); font-size: 13.5px; font-style: italic; font-family:'Cormorant Garamond', serif; }\n\n  .odd-post .closing{ padding: 40px 0 10px; text-align:center; }\n  .odd-post .closing p{\n    margin: 0 auto; max-width: 54ch;\n    font-family:'Cormorant Garamond', serif; font-style: italic; font-size: 19px;\n    color: var(--ink-soft); line-height: 1.6;\n  }\n\n<\/style>\n\n<article class=\"odd-post\">\n\n  <section class=\"hero\">\n    <p class=\"eyebrow\">A field guide for learners<\/p>\n    <h1 class=\"hero-title\">How to Express &#8220;The&#8221; in Chinese<\/h1>\n    <svg class=\"brush\" viewBox=\"0 0 168 14\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n      <path d=\"M2 8C24 3 46 11 68 6C90 1 112 10 134 5C148 2 158 6 166 4\" stroke=\"#A9843F\" stroke-width=\"1.6\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"><\/path>\n    <\/svg>\n    <p class=\"hero-sub\">\n      &#8220;The&#8221; shows up constantly in English, and Chinese has no direct equivalent for it. What it has\n      instead is three separate strategies \u2014 each one making a noun specific in its own way.\n    <\/p>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section>\n    <p class=\"section-eyebrow\">Strategy one<\/p>\n    <h2 class=\"section-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Using_Topic-Comment_Structure\"><\/span>Using Topic-Comment Structure<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <div class=\"section-body\">\n      <p>\n        The topic is what&#8217;s being discussed; the comment is what&#8217;s said about it. Building a sentence\n        this way usually means moving the object to the front, ahead of the subject and verb.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"example-list\">\n      <div class=\"example-row\">\n        <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u66f8<\/span><rt>sh\u016b<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5728<\/span><rt>z\u00e0i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u54ea\u88e1<\/span><rt>n\u01cel\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff1f<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u4e66<\/span><rt>sh\u016b<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5728<\/span><rt>z\u00e0i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u54ea\u91cc<\/span><rt>n\u01cel\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff1f<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n        <span class=\"gloss\">Where is the book? \u2014 specific: both people already know which book<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"example-row\">\n        <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u54ea\u88e1<\/span><rt>n\u01cel\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u6709<\/span><rt>y\u01d2u<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u66f8<\/span><rt>sh\u016b<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff1f<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u54ea\u91cc<\/span><rt>n\u01cel\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u6709<\/span><rt>y\u01d2u<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e66<\/span><rt>sh\u016b<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff1f<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n        <span class=\"gloss\">Where can I find books? \u2014 general, S-V-O order<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"example-row\">\n        <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u72d7<\/span><rt>g\u01d2u<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u6211<\/span><rt>w\u01d2<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u6d17<\/span><rt>x\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e86<\/span><rt>le<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff01<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u72d7<\/span><rt>g\u01d2u<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u6211<\/span><rt>w\u01d2<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u6d17<\/span><rt>x\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e86<\/span><rt>le<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff01<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n        <span class=\"gloss\">I have washed the dog. \u2014 specific, even with two dogs at home, the listener knows exactly which one<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"example-row\">\n        <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u6211<\/span><rt>w\u01d2<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u6d17<\/span><rt>x\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u72d7<\/span><rt>g\u01d2u<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e86<\/span><rt>le<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff01<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u6211<\/span><rt>w\u01d2<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u6d17<\/span><rt>x\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u72d7<\/span><rt>g\u01d2u<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e86<\/span><rt>le<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff01<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n        <span class=\"gloss\">I have washed a dog \/ dogs. \u2014 general, S-V-O order<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <h3 class=\"subsection-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Lets_Compare_Them\"><\/span>Let&#8217;s Compare Them<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n    <div class=\"qa-pair\">\n      <div>\n        <p class=\"qa-label\">Specific \u2014 topic fronted<\/p>\n        <div class=\"qa-line\">\n          <span class=\"who\">Q<\/span>\n          <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u5496\u5561<\/span><rt>k\u0101f\u0113i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4f60<\/span><rt>n\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u8cb7<\/span><rt>m\u01cei<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e86<\/span><rt>le<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u55ce<\/span><rt>ma<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff1f<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u5496\u5561<\/span><rt>k\u0101f\u0113i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4f60<\/span><rt>n\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e70<\/span><rt>m\u01cei<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e86<\/span><rt>le<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5417<\/span><rt>ma<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff1f<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n          <span class=\"gloss\">Have you bought the coffee?<\/span>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"qa-line\">\n          <span class=\"who\">A<\/span>\n          <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u5496\u5561<\/span><rt>k\u0101f\u0113i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u6211<\/span><rt>w\u01d2<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u9084\u6c92<\/span><rt>h\u00e1im\u00e9i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u8cb7<\/span><rt>m\u01cei<\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u5496\u5561<\/span><rt>k\u0101f\u0113i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u6211<\/span><rt>w\u01d2<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u8fd8\u6ca1<\/span><rt>h\u00e1im\u00e9i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e70<\/span><rt>m\u01cei<\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n          <span class=\"gloss\">I haven&#8217;t bought the coffee.<\/span>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <div>\n        <p class=\"qa-label\">General \u2014 plain S-V-O<\/p>\n        <div class=\"qa-line\">\n          <span class=\"who\">Q<\/span>\n          <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u4f60<\/span><rt>n\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u8cb7<\/span><rt>m\u01cei<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5b8c<\/span><rt>w\u00e1n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e86<\/span><rt>le<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u55ce<\/span><rt>ma<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff1f<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u4f60<\/span><rt>n\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e70<\/span><rt>m\u01cei<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5b8c<\/span><rt>w\u00e1n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e86<\/span><rt>le<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5417<\/span><rt>ma<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff1f<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n          <span class=\"gloss\">Did you finish shopping?<\/span>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"qa-line\">\n          <span class=\"who\">A<\/span>\n          <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u6211<\/span><rt>w\u01d2<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u9084\u6c92<\/span><rt>h\u00e1im\u00e9i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u8cb7<\/span><rt>m\u01cei<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5496\u5561<\/span><rt>k\u0101f\u0113i<\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u6211<\/span><rt>w\u01d2<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u8fd8\u6ca1<\/span><rt>h\u00e1im\u00e9i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e70<\/span><rt>m\u01cei<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5496\u5561<\/span><rt>k\u0101f\u0113i<\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n          <span class=\"gloss\">I haven&#8217;t bought coffee.<\/span>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <p style=\"font-size:14px; margin:0 0 8px;\">\n      More on this pattern in <a href=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/13\/chinese-sentence-structure\/\">Chinese Sentence Structure<\/a>.\n    <\/p>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <div class=\"divider\"><\/div>\n\n  <section>\n    <p class=\"section-eyebrow\">Strategy two<\/p>\n    <h2 class=\"section-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Using_Demonstrative_Pronouns\"><\/span>Using Demonstrative Pronouns<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <div class=\"section-body\">\n      <p>\n        Demonstrative pronouns point to something specific \u2014 &#8220;this,&#8221; &#8220;that,&#8221; &#8220;these,&#8221; &#8220;those.&#8221; In\n        Chinese, that&#8217;s <span class=\"lang-zh-TW\">\u9019<\/span><span class=\"lang-zh-CN\">\u8fd9<\/span> zh\u00e8 (&#8220;this&#8221;) and <span class=\"lang-zh-TW\">\u90a3<\/span><span class=\"lang-zh-CN\">\u90a3<\/span> n\u00e0 (&#8220;that&#8221;).\n        Drop one in front of a noun, and it stops being generic.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"example-list\">\n      <div class=\"example-row\">\n        <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u9019\u500b<\/span><rt>zh\u00e8ge<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u86cb\u7cd5<\/span><rt>d\u00e0ng\u0101o<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5f88<\/span><rt>h\u011bn<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u597d\u5403<\/span><rt>h\u01ceoch\u012b<\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u8fd9\u4e2a<\/span><rt>zh\u00e8ge<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u86cb\u7cd5<\/span><rt>d\u00e0ng\u0101o<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5f88<\/span><rt>h\u011bn<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u597d\u5403<\/span><rt>h\u01ceoch\u012b<\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n        <span class=\"gloss\">This cake really tastes good. \u2014 specific<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"example-row\">\n        <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u86cb\u7cd5<\/span><rt>d\u00e0ng\u0101o<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5f88<\/span><rt>h\u011bn<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u597d\u5403<\/span><rt>h\u01ceoch\u012b<\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u86cb\u7cd5<\/span><rt>d\u00e0ng\u0101o<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5f88<\/span><rt>h\u011bn<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u597d\u5403<\/span><rt>h\u01ceoch\u012b<\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n        <span class=\"gloss\">Cakes really taste good. \u2014 general<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"example-row\">\n        <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u90a3\u4e9b<\/span><rt>n\u00e0xi\u0113<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4eba<\/span><rt>r\u00e9n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u662f<\/span><rt>sh\u00ec<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u8ab0<\/span><rt>sh\u00e9i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff1f<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u90a3\u4e9b<\/span><rt>n\u00e0xi\u0113<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4eba<\/span><rt>r\u00e9n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u662f<\/span><rt>sh\u00ec<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u8c01<\/span><rt>sh\u00e9i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff1f<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n        <span class=\"gloss\">Who are those people?<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"example-row\">\n        <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u90a3<\/span><rt>n\u00e0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e2d\u6587<\/span><rt>Zh\u014dngw\u00e9n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">(\u5b57)<\/span><rt>z\u00ec<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5f88<\/span><rt>h\u011bn<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u96e3<\/span><rt>n\u00e1n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5beb<\/span><rt>xi\u011b<\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u90a3<\/span><rt>n\u00e0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e2d\u6587<\/span><rt>Zh\u014dngw\u00e9n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">(\u5b57)<\/span><rt>z\u00ec<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5f88<\/span><rt>h\u011bn<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u96be<\/span><rt>n\u00e1n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5199<\/span><rt>xi\u011b<\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n        <span class=\"gloss\">That Chinese (character) is hard to write. \u2014 specific<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"example-row\">\n        <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u4e2d\u6587<\/span><rt>Zh\u014dngw\u00e9n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5f88<\/span><rt>h\u011bn<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u96e3<\/span><rt>n\u00e1n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5beb<\/span><rt>xi\u011b<\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u4e2d\u6587<\/span><rt>Zh\u014dngw\u00e9n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5f88<\/span><rt>h\u011bn<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u96be<\/span><rt>n\u00e1n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5199<\/span><rt>xi\u011b<\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n        <span class=\"gloss\">Chinese is hard to write. \u2014 general<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <div class=\"divider\"><\/div>\n\n  <section>\n    <p class=\"section-eyebrow\">Strategy three<\/p>\n    <h2 class=\"section-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Using_Clear_Descriptions\"><\/span>Using Clear Descriptions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <div class=\"section-body\">\n      <p>\n        The third route: build a description so specific that the noun can only mean one thing \u2014 grammatically,\n        this is an <a href=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/11\/abbreviations\/\">attributive\n        modifier<\/a> (\u5b9a<span class=\"lang-zh-TW\">\u8a9e<\/span><span class=\"lang-zh-CN\">\u8bed<\/span> d\u00ecngy\u01d4) attached with \u7684 de. The highlighted part below is the whole\n        description doing the work &#8220;the&#8221; would do in English.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"example-list\">\n      <div class=\"example-row\">\n        <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u4f60<\/span><rt>n\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u559c\u6b61<\/span><rt>x\u01d0hu\u0101n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5403<\/span><rt>ch\u012b<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u5abd\u5abd<\/span><rt>m\u0101ma<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u505a<\/span><rt>zu\u00f2<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u7684<\/span><rt>de<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u98ef<\/span><rt>f\u00e0n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u55ce<\/span><rt>ma<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff1f<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u4f60<\/span><rt>n\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u559c\u6b22<\/span><rt>x\u01d0huan<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5403<\/span><rt>ch\u012b<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u5988\u5988<\/span><rt>m\u0101ma<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u505a<\/span><rt>zu\u00f2<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u7684<\/span><rt>de<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u996d<\/span><rt>f\u00e0n<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5417<\/span><rt>ma<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\uff1f<\/span><rt><\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n        <span class=\"gloss\">Do you like to eat the food your mom made?<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"example-row\">\n        <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb hl\">\u6211\u5011<\/span><rt>w\u01d2men<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u6628\u5929<\/span><rt>zu\u00f3ti\u0101n<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u53bb<\/span><rt>q\u00f9<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u7684<\/span><rt>de<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u9910\u5ef3<\/span><rt>c\u0101nt\u012bng<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5f88<\/span><rt>h\u011bn<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u8cb4<\/span><rt>gu\u00ec<\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb hl\">\u6211\u4eec<\/span><rt>w\u01d2men<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u6628\u5929<\/span><rt>zu\u00f3ti\u0101n<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u53bb<\/span><rt>q\u00f9<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u7684<\/span><rt>de<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u9910\u5385<\/span><rt>c\u0101nt\u012bng<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5f88<\/span><rt>h\u011bn<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u8d35<\/span><rt>gu\u00ec<\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n        <span class=\"gloss\">The restaurant we went to yesterday was expensive.<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"example-row\">\n        <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u4ed6<\/span><rt>t\u0101<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5f04\u58de<\/span><rt>n\u00f2nghu\u00e0i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e86<\/span><rt>le<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u4f60<\/span><rt>n\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u65b0<\/span><rt>x\u012bn<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u8cb7<\/span><rt>m\u01cei<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u7684<\/span><rt>de<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u96fb\u8996\u6a5f<\/span><rt>di\u00e0nsh\u00ecj\u012b<\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u4ed6<\/span><rt>t\u0101<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5f04\u574f<\/span><rt>n\u00f2nghu\u00e0i<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u4e86<\/span><rt>le<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u4f60<\/span><rt>n\u01d0<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u65b0<\/span><rt>x\u012bn<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u4e70<\/span><rt>m\u01cei<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u7684<\/span><rt>de<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u7535\u89c6\u673a<\/span><rt>di\u00e0nsh\u00ecj\u012b<\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n        <span class=\"gloss\">He broke the TV you just bought.<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <div class=\"divider\"><\/div>\n\n  <section>\n    <p class=\"section-eyebrow\">Stacking them<\/p>\n    <h2 class=\"section-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Strategies_Can_Combine\"><\/span>Strategies Can Combine<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <div class=\"section-body\">\n      <p>\n        These three aren&#8217;t mutually exclusive \u2014 a single noun phrase can pull in more than one at once.\n        The more you stack, the more precisely it points to one specific thing.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"example-list\">\n      <div class=\"example-row\">\n        <span class=\"zh-block\"><ruby class=\"lang-zh-TW\"><span class=\"rb\">\u6211\u5011<\/span><rt>w\u01d2men<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u6628\u5929<\/span><rt>zu\u00f3ti\u0101n<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl2\">\u53bb<\/span><rt>q\u00f9<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl2\">\u7684<\/span><rt>de<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u90a3<\/span><rt>n\u00e0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5bb6<\/span><rt>ji\u0101<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u9910\u5ef3<\/span><rt>c\u0101nt\u012bng<\/rt><\/ruby><ruby class=\"lang-zh-CN\"><span class=\"rb\">\u6211\u4eec<\/span><rt>w\u01d2men<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u6628\u5929<\/span><rt>zu\u00f3ti\u0101n<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl2\">\u53bb<\/span><rt>q\u00f9<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl2\">\u7684<\/span><rt>de<\/rt><span class=\"rb hl\">\u90a3<\/span><rt>n\u00e0<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u5bb6<\/span><rt>ji\u0101<\/rt><span class=\"rb\">\u9910\u5385<\/span><rt>c\u0101nt\u012bng<\/rt><\/ruby><\/span>\n        <span class=\"gloss\">That restaurant we went to yesterday<\/span>\n        <span class=\"note\"><span class=\"lang-zh-TW\">\u90a3<\/span><span class=\"lang-zh-CN\">\u90a3<\/span> (gold) is the demonstrative pronoun; <span class=\"lang-zh-TW\">\u53bb\u7684<\/span><span class=\"lang-zh-CN\">\u53bb\u7684<\/span> (underlined) is the descriptive clause \u2014 both narrowing down the same noun together.<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <div class=\"divider\"><\/div>\n\n  <section>\n    <p class=\"section-eyebrow\">Putting it together<\/p>\n    <h2 class=\"section-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Quick_Guide_Which_One_Should_You_Use\"><\/span>Quick Guide: Which One Should You Use?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <div class=\"section-body\">\n      <ul style=\"margin:0 0 16px; padding-left:20px;\">\n        <li style=\"font-size:15.5px; margin-bottom:10px;\"><b style=\"color:var(--jade-deep);\">Already come up in the conversation?<\/b> Front it as the topic (Strategy 1).<\/li>\n        <li style=\"font-size:15.5px; margin-bottom:10px;\"><b style=\"color:var(--jade-deep);\">Just pointing at something?<\/b> Reach for <span class=\"lang-zh-TW\">\u9019 zh\u00e8<\/span><span class=\"lang-zh-CN\">\u8fd9 zh\u00e8<\/span>\/<span class=\"lang-zh-TW\">\u90a3 n\u00e0<\/span><span class=\"lang-zh-CN\">\u90a3 n\u00e0<\/span> \u2014 the simplest, most direct option (Strategy 2).<\/li>\n        <li style=\"font-size:15.5px; margin-bottom:10px;\"><b style=\"color:var(--jade-deep);\">Needs more context to pin down which one?<\/b> Build a description with \u7684 (Strategy 3).<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section class=\"closing\">\n    <p>\n      No single word does the job \u2014 but between word order, a pointing word, and a clear enough\n      description, Chinese never actually needs one. It&#8217;s the same reliance on context that lets Chinese\n      drop pronouns entirely, covered in\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/16\/zero-pronoun\/\">Zero Pronoun<\/a>.\n    <\/p>\n  <\/section>\n\n<\/article>\n\n<script>\n\/*\n  Applies the site's lang_zh-TW cookie on page load (see lang-selector\n  widget) directly to this post's .lang-zh-TW \/ .lang-zh-CN elements,\n  since the widget's own \"on load\" handler only updates its menu\n  pointers, not the actual display. Cookie convention: \"1\" = Traditional,\n  \"0\" = Simplified.\n*\/\n(function(){\n  var post = document.currentScript ? document.currentScript.closest('.odd-post') : document.querySelector('.odd-post');\n  if(!post) return;\n\n  function getCookie(name){\n    var m = document.cookie.match(new RegExp('(?:^|; )' + name.replace(\/([.$?*|{}()\\[\\]\\\\\\\/\\+^])\/g, '\\\\$1') + '=([^;]*)'));\n    return m ? decodeURIComponent(m[1]) : null;\n  }\n\n  var showSimplified = getCookie('lang_zh-TW') === '0';\n  var hideClass = showSimplified ? 'lang-zh-TW' : 'lang-zh-CN';\n  var showClass = showSimplified ? 'lang-zh-CN' : 'lang-zh-TW';\n\n  post.querySelectorAll('.' + hideClass).forEach(function(el){ el.style.display = 'none'; });\n  post.querySelectorAll('.' + showClass).forEach(function(el){ el.style.display = ''; });\n})();\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:92px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/foundation\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"86\" src=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/e68f92e59c963-300x86.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-571\" style=\"width:150px;height:43px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/e68f92e59c963-300x86.png 300w, https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/e68f92e59c963-600x171.png 600w, https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/e68f92e59c963.png 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A field guide for learners How to Express &#8220;The&#8221; in Chinese &#8220;The&#8221; shows up constantly in English, and Chinese has no direct equivalent for it. What it has instead is three separate strategies \u2014 each one making a noun specific in its own way. Strategy one Using Topic-Comment Structure The topic is what&#8217;s being discussed;&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[118],"class_list":["post-1194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hsk1","tag-the-in-chinese"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to express &quot;the&quot; in Chinese - OneDotDot Chinese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"English speakers to use &quot;the&quot; is with any noun\u00a0when the meaning is specific.\u00a0In this case, there are also three ways can...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to express &quot;the&quot; in Chinese - OneDotDot Chinese\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"English speakers to use &quot;the&quot; is with any noun\u00a0when the meaning is specific.\u00a0In this case, there are also three ways can...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OneDotDot Chinese\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-16T07:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-21T08:30:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/e68f92e59c963-300x86.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tiffany\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tiffany\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/16\\\/the-in-chinese\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/16\\\/the-in-chinese\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"tiffany\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3556e1160fac98b190d03b8aa8604d99\"},\"headline\":\"How to express &#8220;the&#8221; in Chinese\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-16T07:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-21T08:30:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/16\\\/the-in-chinese\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":753,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3556e1160fac98b190d03b8aa8604d99\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/16\\\/the-in-chinese\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/e68f92e59c963-300x86.png\",\"keywords\":[\"the in Chinese\"],\"articleSection\":[\"HSK 1\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/16\\\/the-in-chinese\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/16\\\/the-in-chinese\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to express \\\"the\\\" in Chinese - OneDotDot Chinese\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/16\\\/the-in-chinese\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/16\\\/the-in-chinese\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/e68f92e59c963-300x86.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-16T07:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-21T08:30:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"English speakers to use \\\"the\\\" is with any noun\u00a0when the meaning is specific.\u00a0In this case, there are also three ways can...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/16\\\/the-in-chinese\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/16\\\/the-in-chinese\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/16\\\/the-in-chinese\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/e68f92e59c963.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/e68f92e59c963.png\",\"width\":700,\"height\":200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/16\\\/the-in-chinese\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9801\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to express &#8220;the&#8221; in Chinese\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"OneDotDot Chinese\",\"description\":\"Learn a little Chinese every day\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3556e1160fac98b190d03b8aa8604d99\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3556e1160fac98b190d03b8aa8604d99\",\"name\":\"tiffany\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/cropped-logo_tiffany2-1.png\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/cropped-logo_tiffany2-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/cropped-logo_tiffany2-1.png\",\"width\":214,\"height\":214,\"caption\":\"tiffany\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/cropped-logo_tiffany2-1.png\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/tiffanys_talk\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/tiffany-huang-mandarin\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tiffanysmandarin.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/tiffany\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to express \"the\" in Chinese - OneDotDot Chinese","description":"English speakers to use \"the\" is with any noun\u00a0when the meaning is specific.\u00a0In this case, there are also three ways can...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to express \"the\" in Chinese - OneDotDot Chinese","og_description":"English speakers to use \"the\" is with any noun\u00a0when the meaning is specific.\u00a0In this case, there are also three ways can...","og_url":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/","og_site_name":"OneDotDot Chinese","article_published_time":"2022-07-16T07:30:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-21T08:30:54+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/e68f92e59c963-300x86.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"tiffany","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"tiffany","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/"},"author":{"name":"tiffany","@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3556e1160fac98b190d03b8aa8604d99"},"headline":"How to express &#8220;the&#8221; in Chinese","datePublished":"2022-07-16T07:30:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-21T08:30:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/"},"wordCount":753,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3556e1160fac98b190d03b8aa8604d99"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/e68f92e59c963-300x86.png","keywords":["the in Chinese"],"articleSection":["HSK 1"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/","url":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/","name":"How to express \"the\" in Chinese - OneDotDot Chinese","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/e68f92e59c963-300x86.png","datePublished":"2022-07-16T07:30:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-21T08:30:54+00:00","description":"English speakers to use \"the\" is with any noun\u00a0when the meaning is specific.\u00a0In this case, there are also three ways can...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/e68f92e59c963.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/e68f92e59c963.png","width":700,"height":200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/16\/the-in-chinese\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9801","item":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to express &#8220;the&#8221; in Chinese"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/","name":"OneDotDot Chinese","description":"Learn a little Chinese every day","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3556e1160fac98b190d03b8aa8604d99"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3556e1160fac98b190d03b8aa8604d99","name":"tiffany","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cropped-logo_tiffany2-1.png","url":"http:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cropped-logo_tiffany2-1.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cropped-logo_tiffany2-1.png","width":214,"height":214,"caption":"tiffany"},"logo":{"@id":"http:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cropped-logo_tiffany2-1.png"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tiffanys_talk\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/tiffany-huang-mandarin\/"],"url":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/author\/tiffany\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1194"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15742,"href":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194\/revisions\/15742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiffanysmandarin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}