Learning adjectives is an important aspect of studying any language. After all, you need adjectives to describe people, places, and things. Building up your vocabulary with more and more adjectives will help increase your fluency in no time. A great way to learn adjectives is to learn two opposite words at the same time. We’re here to help you learn Chinese adjectives through a matching activity and a fill-in-the-blank exercise.

Matching Activity

Learn the words for hot and cold at the same time!

If you’re really awesome (厉害 – lì hài), you might be able to tackle this activity all on your own. If it’s a bit intimidating, never fear – this activity is based on a past post about Chinese opposite words. Go ahead and study that one first if you need to, but don’t use it as a cheat-sheet when you eventually try to do the matching activity! When you’re ready, go ahead and try to match up the 15 sets of opposite words. Then you’ll have 30 common Chinese adjectives in your word bank.

Ready for the answers? Check them and see how you did!

Fill in the Blank

Shanghai is a … city.

Now try and use a few of those words to fill in the blanks in these sentences:

1. 冬天很___，夏天很___.
dōng tiān hěn ___, xià tiān hěn ___
Winter is very ____, summer is very ____.

2. 上海是一个___城市.
shàng hǎi shì yī gè ___ chéng shì
Shanghai is a ____ city.

3. 姚明很___.
yáo míng hěn ___
Yao Ming is very ___.

4. 我三十岁，他二十岁. 我比他___.
wǒ sān shí suì, tā èr shí suì. wǒ bǐ tā ___.
I’m 30 years old, he’s 20 years old. I’m _____ than him.

5. 苹果手机有点___. 一个6000人民币.
píng guǒ shǒu jī yǒu diǎn ___. yī gè 6,000 rén mín bì
Apple cell phones are a little ____. One is 6,000 RMB.

6. 蹦极跳有点___.
bèng jí tiào yǒu diǎn ___.
Bungee jumping is a little _____.

7. 他很___，天天锻炼身体.
tā hěn ___, tiān tiān duàn liàn shēn tǐ
He’s very ____. He works out every day.

8. 最近我吃多了，我有点___.
zuì jìn wǒ chī duō le, wǒ yǒu diǎn ___
I’ve eaten a lot lately, I’m a little ____.

9. 火车站离这里很___. 你需要打车.
huǒ chē zhàn lí zhè lǐ hěn ___. nǐ xū yào dǎ chē
The train station is very ___ from here. You need to take a taxi.

10. 我明天放假. 我很___!
wǒ míng tiān fàng jià. wǒ hěn ___
I’m off tomorrow. I’m very ___!

Ready for the answers? Here they are:

You’ll find that all of these adjectives are quite common, so be sure to memorize them and start using them on a regular basis.