I can give my opinion about food — 我觉得…很好吃 — ask 你觉得…怎么样？, and describe a dish: 很好吃的菜.
In my opinion: 觉得; the describing word before the noun: 的
In my opinion: 觉得; the describing word before the noun: 的
To say what you think of a dish, English says “I think” or “in my opinion”; Chinese says 我觉得 + the opinion as a whole sentence, with its own 很 before the adjective: 我觉得这个菜很甜。(Wǒ juéde zhège cài hěn tián.) Not 想 (a wish): an opinion is always 觉得. To ask someone's opinion: 你觉得……怎么样？ (怎么样 is familiar from module 2).
A description of more than one word (很 or 非常 + adjective) goes before the noun and is joined with 的: 很好吃的菜 — “a very tasty dish”, just like 朋友的书 in module 2: the description is always on the left. A single one-syllable adjective without 很 goes straight before the noun, with no 的: 新手机 (xīn shǒujī), 小狗 (xiǎo gǒu); but a two-syllable adjective like 好吃 takes 的 even without 很 (好吃的菜).
The character 觉 has two readings: jué in 觉得, jiào in 睡觉; one spelling, two words.
In northern China people eat more wheat-flour food, in the south more rice; in China tea is drunk without sugar, and food is eaten with chopsticks (筷子, kuàizi); see the table for more.
Common mistakes:
• ×我觉得很甜这个菜。→ 我觉得这个菜很甜。(Wǒ juéde zhège cài hěn tián.)
• ×好吃很的菜 → 很好吃的菜。(Hěn hǎochī de cài.)
• ×很好吃菜 → 很好吃的菜。(Hěn hǎochī de cài.)
我觉得 + opinion
| Example (with pinyin) | Translation |
|---|---|
| 我觉得这个菜很甜。(Wǒ juéde zhège cài hěn tián.) | I think this dish is sweet |
| 他觉得咖啡不好。(Tā juéde kāfēi bù hǎo.) | He thinks the coffee is bad |
| 你觉得……怎么样？(Nǐ juéde … zěnmeyàng?) | What do you think of …? (model question) |
Describing word + 的 + noun
| Phrase (with pinyin) | Translation |
|---|---|
| 很好吃的菜 (hěn hǎochī de cài) | a very tasty dish |
| 很新的电脑 (hěn xīn de diànnǎo) | a brand-new computer |
| 非常漂亮的手机 (fēicháng piàoliang de shǒujī) | a very pretty phone |
Chinese food: facts
| Where | Fact |
|---|---|
| 北方 (běifāng) — the north | wheat: 面条儿 (miàntiáor), 包子 (bāozi), 饺子 (jiǎozi) |
| 南方 (nánfāng) — the south | rice: 米饭 (mǐfàn) |
| tea | 红茶 (hóngchá), 绿茶 (lǜchá); drunk without sugar |
| at the table | 筷子 (kuàizi) |
Lesson notes
In my opinion: 觉得; the describing word before the noun: 的
To say what you think of a dish, English says “I think” or “in my opinion”; Chinese says 我觉得 + the opinion as a whole sentence, with its own 很 before the adjective: 我觉得这个菜很甜。(Wǒ juéde zhège cài hěn tián.) Not 想 (a wish): an opinion is always 觉得. To ask someone's opinion: 你觉得……怎么样？ (怎么样 is familiar from module 2).
A description of more than one word (很 or 非常 + adjective) goes before the noun and is joined with 的: 很好吃的菜 — “a very tasty dish”, just like 朋友的书 in module 2: the description is always on the left. A single one-syllable adjective without 很 goes straight before the noun, with no 的: 新手机 (xīn shǒujī), 小狗 (xiǎo gǒu); but a two-syllable adjective like 好吃 takes 的 even without 很 (好吃的菜).
The character 觉 has two readings: jué in 觉得, jiào in 睡觉; one spelling, two words.
In northern China people eat more wheat-flour food, in the south more rice; in China tea is drunk without sugar, and food is eaten with chopsticks (筷子, kuàizi); see the table for more.
Common mistakes:
• ×我觉得很甜这个菜。→ 我觉得这个菜很甜。(Wǒ juéde zhège cài hěn tián.)
• ×好吃很的菜 → 很好吃的菜。(Hěn hǎochī de cài.)
• ×很好吃菜 → 很好吃的菜。(Hěn hǎochī de cài.)