Basic health and temperature | Learn Chinese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 太热了。

   It is too hot.

   太 … 了

   too …

   热

   hot

   More detail

   太 … 了 is a reusable degree pattern. In this sentence, 太 marks an excessive degree, and the sentence-final 了 helps make the degree evaluation emphatic in the current utterance. The pattern can be used with other descriptive words; for example, 太冷了 means “It is too cold.” 热 means “hot” here and describes temperature. It is a descriptive word; it does not change form to mark tense in this sentence. 冷 means “cold” and provides a useful contrast for temperature descriptions. Together, 太 + 热 + 了 means “It is too hot.” The sentence has no overt subject: Chinese can leave the subject unspoken when the situation makes the topic clear, so this can stand alone as a comment about the temperature.

2. 太冷了。

   It is too cold.

   太

   too; excessively

   冷

   cold

   了

   new-state marker

   More detail

   太 comes before 冷 and makes the degree excessive: 太 + adjective means “too [adjective]” in this pattern. It is stronger than simply saying something is cold. Example: 太贵了。— “It is too expensive.” 冷 means “cold” here. It is a descriptive word that can function as the predicate of the sentence; Chinese does not require a separate word meaning “is” in this pattern. The contrasting word in the supplied context is 热, “hot.” 了 at the end presents the situation as a new or changed state. It does not mean past tense here. For example, 下雨了。— “It has started raining.” Together, 太冷了 means “It is too cold.” The pattern 太 + descriptive word + 了 presents the described condition as excessively strong and relevant as a current state.

3. 我很累。

   I am very tired.

   我

   I; me

   很

   very

   累

   tired

   More detail

   我 means “I” here, the first-person singular pronoun. It can also mean “me” depending on its role in a sentence. Example: 我是学生。 — “I am a student.” 很 comes before 累 and marks a high degree: “very tired.” In Mandarin, 很 commonly appears before an adjective used as the predicate, even when the English translation does not need a strong emphasis. A reusable pattern is Subject + 很 + adjective, as in 她很忙。 — “She is busy.” 累 is an adjective meaning “tired” here. Mandarin can use this kind of adjective directly as the predicate, so a separate equivalent of English “am” is not needed. Example: 他累。 — “He is tired.” Together, 我 + 很 + 累 forms 我很累。: “I am very tired.” The full stop marks the end of the statement.

4. 我很饿。

   I am very hungry.

   我

   I

   很

   very

   饿

   hungry

   More detail

   我 means “I” here, the first-person singular pronoun used as the subject. Chinese pronouns do not change for grammatical gender, and 我 is used whether the speaker is male or female. The same form can also be an object, as in 他看见我 (“He sees me”), but its role in the fixed sentence is subject. 很 means “very” in this utterance and comes before the descriptive word it modifies. The reusable pattern is subject + 很 + descriptive word, as in 我很累 (“I am very tired”) and 我很渴 (“I am very thirsty”). 饿 means “hungry” here and describes the speaker’s state. It does not change form for the speaker’s gender or number. The same word can be used with another subject: 他很饿 means “He is very hungry.” Together, 我很饿 follows the pattern subject + 很 + descriptive word: 我 identifies the speaker, 很 marks the degree, and 饿 describes the speaker’s state. The complete meaning is “I am very hungry.”

5. 我很渴。

   I am very thirsty.

   我

   I; me

   很

   very

   渴

   thirsty

   More detail

   我 means “I” here. It is the first-person singular pronoun used for the speaker. The same form can also be used as an object; Chinese does not change this pronoun for subject versus object. Example: 我喝水。— “I drink water.” 很 means “very” here and comes before 渴. With many Chinese descriptive words used as predicates, 很 can mark or strengthen the degree without making the sentence sound like a bare contrast. It is not a separate form of 渴. Example: 我很累。— “I am very tired.” 渴 means “thirsty.” It is a descriptive word that can function directly as the predicate after 我, so Chinese does not need a separate equivalent of “am” in this sentence. 饿, “hungry,” is a useful contrasting condition, but it is not the opposite of 渴. In the contextual sentence 我很饿。— “I am very hungry,” it describes a different bodily need. Together, 我 + 很 + 渴 means “I am very thirsty.” The sentence states the speaker’s current condition: 我 identifies the speaker, 很 marks a high degree, and 渴 describes that condition. The natural reusable pattern is 我很 + descriptive word, as in 我很饿。— “I am very hungry.”

6. 我觉得不舒服。

   I am feeling sick.

   我

   I; me

   觉得

   feel; think

   不舒服

   unwell; uncomfortable

   More detail

   我 means “I” here, the speaker referring to themself. Mandarin pronouns do not change for grammatical gender or case: 我 can correspond to “I” as subject or “me” in other positions. Example: 我很渴。 means “I am very thirsty.” 觉得 is the verb “to feel” in this sentence, specifically describing the speaker’s experience. Its base form is also 觉得; Mandarin verbs do not change form for person or tense. 觉得 can also mean “to think” when it introduces an opinion, as in 我觉得这很好。—“I think this is good.” Here, the surrounding phrase 不舒服 and the fixed translation support the bodily-feeling meaning “feel sick/unwell.” 不舒服 means “unwell” or “uncomfortable.” It describes an unpleasant physical state here. 不 means “not” in many patterns, while 舒服 means “comfortable,” but 不舒服 is best learned as the reusable expression “feel unwell/uncomfortable,” rather than as an English-style inflected adjective. Example: 这个椅子不舒服。—“This chair is uncomfortable.” Together, 我 + 觉得 + 不舒服 means “I feel unwell” or, matching the fixed translation, “I am feeling sick.” The pattern [subject] + 觉得 + [state or experience] can be reused to say what someone feels; the preceding context 我很渴。—“I am very thirsty.”—also uses 我 for the speaker.