Adjectives (形容词 xíng róng cí) play an important role in any language.

Adjectives are used to describe the noun and they are tremendously useful in daily spoken language. In this post we will focus on five must-know adjectives to describe (mostly but, of course, not only) people. These five traits and their antonyms will help you describe different personalities (个性 gè xìng) in Chinese.

 

聪明 Cōng míng

Meaning: intelligent, bright, clever, smart

For example:

• 这个孩子真聪明，三岁就能背诵古诗。

Zhè ge hái zi zhēn cōng míng, sān suì jiù néng bèi sòng gǔ shī.

This child is very smart, only three years old and already recites old poems.

Antonyms: 笨bèn, 愚蠢yúchǔn.

For example:

• 我哥哥很聪明， 但是我弟弟非常愚蠢。

Wǒ gē gē hěn cōng míng, dàn shì wǒ dì dì fēi cháng yú chǔn.

My old brother is very intelligent, but my young brother is so stupid.

 

善良 Shàn liáng

Meaning: kind-hearted

For example:

• 他是一个善良的人，经常接济一些穷苦的人。

Tā shì yī gè shàn liáng de rén, jīng cháng jiē jǐ yī xiē qióng kǔ de rén.

He’s a kind person, often gives financial help to poor people.

Antonyms: 恶毒 (è dú), 狠毒 (hěn dú).

For example:

• 我妹妹心地善良， 我哥哥却是一个恶毒的男人。

Wǒ mèi mei xīn dì shàn liáng, wǒ gē gē què shì yī gè è dú de nán rén.

My sister is a kind-hearted, my brother, on the other hand, is such a wicked person.

 

慷慨 Kāng kǎi

Meaning: generous, liberal

For example:

• 他对他的朋友很慷慨, 乐意和朋友分享任何东西。

Tā duì tā de péng yǒu hěn kāng kǎi, lè yì hé péng yǒu fēn xiǎng rèn hé dōngxī.

He is very generous to his friends, willing to share everything with them.

Antonyms: 小气xiǎoqì, 吝啬lìnsè.

For example:

• 他真慷慨， 一下子借给我一百块钱。 他的朋友跟他不一样：一块钱也没给我。他真小气。

Tā zhēn kāng kǎi, yī xià zi jiè gěi wǒ yī bǎi kuài qián. Tā de péng yǒu gēn tā bù yī yàng:

yī kuài qián yě méi gěi wǒ. Tā zhēn xiǎo qì.

He is really generous, leant me 100 Yuan right off. His friend, though, isn’t the same:

he didn’t give me even one Yuan. He’s so stingy.

 

勇敢 Yǒng gǎn

Meaning: brave

For example:

• 他真勇敢，什么都没吓到他。

Tā zhēn yǒng gǎn, shén me dōu méi xià dào tā.

He is really brave, nothing scares him.

Antonyms: 懦弱 (nuò ruò), 胆小 (dǎn xiǎo), 怯懦 (qiè nuò).

For example:

• 他是个胆小的孩子,在广庭大众的场合便不敢说话了。他哥哥挺勇敢的，一点不认生。

Tā shì gè dǎn xiǎo de hái zi, zài guǎng tíng dà zhòng de chǎng hé biàn bù gǎn shuō huà

1. Tā gē gē tǐng yǒng gǎn de, yī diǎn bù rèn shēng.

He’s a timid child, doesn’t dare to speak in public. His brother is quite brave, not at all

shy with strangers.

 

认真 Rèn zhēn

Meaning: earnest, serious

For example:

• 他很认真，每天都努力学习。

Tā hěn rèn zhēn, měi tiān dōu nǔ lì xué xí.

He is very serious, he studies hard every day.

Antonyms: 草率cǎoshuài, 敷衍fūyǎn.

For example:

• 他不是认真人，每件事都做得太草率了。

Tā bù shì rèn zhēn rén, měi jiàn shì dōu zuò dé tài cǎo shuài le.

He isn’t serious, everything he does he does a sloppy job.

 

And one bonus adjective for describing appearance:

漂亮 Piào liang

Meaning: handsome, good looking, pretty, beautiful

For example:

她长得很漂亮。

Tā zhǎng dé hěn piào liang.

She is a good looker.

Antonyms: 丑陋chǒulòu.

For example:

他每天都打扮得漂漂亮亮的， 但是相貌还丑陋。

Tā měi tiān dōu dǎ bàn dé piào piào liang liàng de, dàn shì xiàng mào hái chǒu lòu.

He dresses up every day, but still looks ugly.

 

 

好好学习，天天向上！

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