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Chinese frequency list

No. 2,661 in Chinese

the

In Chinese, there is no direct equivalent to the English word "the"; articles like "the" are typically omitted, or context determines specificity.

In a sentence

  • 这是今天的作业。

    This is today's homework.

    The word '的' is used here as a possessive particle, indicating ownership or association (today's homework).

  • 我们可以听到鸟的歌声。

    We can hear the song of the birds.

    In this sentence, '的' indicates the relationship between the birds and their song (the song of the birds).

  • 这个故事很有趣。

    This story is very interesting.

    Here, '的' is part of the structure to turn '这' (this) and '个' (classifier) into a descriptive noun phrase (this story).

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