Parts of Speech in Chinese: A Quick Reference

Chinese grammar does not organize words the way English does. There is no verb conjugation, no plural marking, and no simple noun/verb/adjective split that maps cleanly onto English categories. Instead, Mandarin has its own set of word classes, several of which have no real English equivalent.

This is a quick reference to the major categories. For a broader, pattern-based overview, see our Mandarin grammar reference.

Nouns and Pronouns (N)

Nouns and pronouns fill the subject, object, or topic slot in a sentence. Chinese nouns do not inflect for number or case.

• 老師 (lǎoshī) — teacher
• 你 (nǐ) — you
• 時間 (shíjiān) — time

Determiners (Det)

Demonstratives like “this” and “that” point to a specific referent. They appear before a measure word, not directly before a noun.

• 這 (zhè) — this
• 那 (nà) — that

Measure Words (M)

Chinese requires a measure word between a number (or demonstrative) and a noun. Different measure words classify nouns by shape, category, or function; others quantify a verb’s frequency.

• 隻 (zhī) — for animals: 一隻貓 (one cat)
• 遍 (biàn) — for a completed repetition: 看一遍 (watch it through once)

There is no way around this system—every countable noun takes one, and the general-purpose 個 (ge) works as a fallback when you don’t know the specific one. See the complete guide to Chinese measure words for the classifier system and the 30 measure words learners need most.

Prepositions / Coverbs (Prep)

These introduce a location, direction, or instrument, and always sit before the verb rather than after it, unlike most English prepositions. This fits into the broader Chinese sentence structure pattern of placing time, location, and manner before the main verb.

• 在 (zài) — at, in
• 用 (yòng) — using, with

Adverbs (Adv)

Adverbs modify verbs, state verbs, or entire clauses, and are placed before the predicate. For a practical view of how these elements fit into Mandarin word order, see the Chinese sentence structure guide.

• 也 (yě) — also
• 已經 (yǐjīng) — already

Conjunctions (Conj)

Conjunctions link words, phrases, or clauses. For the fixed paired structures behind 因為…所以… and 雖然…但是…, see the guide to Chinese paired conjunctions.

• 和 (hé) — and
• 因為 (yīnwèi) — because

Particles (Ptc)

Particles carry no independent meaning but mark aspect, mood, sentence type, or grammatical structure. They typically attach to the end of a clause or a word. The guide to 的, 地, and 得 covers three especially common structural particles.

• 呢 (ne) — question/continuation marker
• 過 (guò) — marks past experience

For aspect specifically, compare 了 and 過 and how they differ from tense in English.

Verbs: More Than One Category

English treats “verb” and “adjective” as separate parts of speech. Chinese does not—qualities like “big” or “expensive” behave grammatically like verbs and never take a linking “to be.” Because of this, Mandarin verbs split into several distinct subtypes.

Transitive action verbs (V) take a direct object: 看 (kàn, to watch), 寫 (xiě, to write).

Intransitive action verbs (Vi) describe an action with no object: 笑 (xiào, to laugh), 走 (zǒu, to walk).

Auxiliary verbs (Vaux) are modals that precede a main verb to express ability, permission, or desire: 會 (huì, can/know how to), 應該 (yīnggāi, should).

Separable verbs (V-sep) are verb-object compounds that can split apart to insert an aspect marker or modifier: 睡覺 (shuìjiào, to sleep) becomes 睡了覺 (slept), not 睡覺了.

Intransitive state verbs (Vs) describe a quality or state and function as the predicate on their own—no 是 (to be) needed: 累 (lèi, tired), 忙 (máng, busy).

Transitive state verbs (Vst) express a cognitive, emotional, or relational state directed at an object: 愛 (ài, to love), 記得 (jìdé, to remember).

Attributive state verbs (Vs-attr) mainly modify nouns rather than stand as a predicate: 唯一 (wéiyī, sole/only), 共同 (gòngtóng, common/shared).

Predicative state verbs (Vs-pred) mainly serve as the predicate and rarely modify a noun directly: 對 (duì, correct), 錯 (cuò, wrong).

Intransitive process verbs (Vp) mark a non-volitional change of state, with no object: 醒 (xǐng, to wake up), 壞 (huài, to break down).

Transitive process verbs (Vpt) describe an action that brings about a change of state in something else: 打破 (dǎpò, to break something), 弄丟 (nòngdiū, to lose something).

Why the System Is Organized This Way

Categories like Vs, Vst, Vp, and Vpt exist because Chinese grammar cares about two things English grammar mostly ignores: whether a word can stand alone as a predicate without “to be,” and whether a change of state happens on its own or is caused by an action. Sorting words this finely explains, for instance, why 累 (tired) needs no verb “to be” but does need 很 in front of it to sound natural as a plain statement, or why some verbs can split apart to hold aspect markers and others cannot.

Learning the categories is less about memorizing labels and more about predicting behavior: once you know a word’s class, you know where it sits in a sentence and what it can combine with. Continue with the grammar patterns organized by TOCFL band to see these categories used in complete sentences.

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Related Reading

• Chinese Sentence Structure — How word classes fit into SVO order, topic-comment structures, and the Mandarin sentence clock.
• Chinese Measure Words (量詞): The Complete Guide — The classifier system introduced in the measure-word section above.
• Chinese Conjunctions: 雖然…但是… and the Paired-Clause System — How Mandarin conjunctions link clauses in fixed pairs.
• How to Use 的, 地, and 得 in Chinese — A practical guide to three high-frequency structural particles.
• TOCFL Reading Section: Format, Question Types, and Strategies — Why identifying whether a blank requires a noun, verb, conjunction, particle, or measure word matters on the exam.