Once you know 的 as the modifier + 的 + noun linker, this page is its most useful trick: delete the noun and the phrase ending in 的 stands in for it. 红的 means "the red one," 我的 means "mine," 卖菜的 means "the one who sells vegetables." English needs a propword — the red one, the *thing to eat — but Chinese needs nothing extra: 的 itself does the nominalising. Grammarians call the result the *的字结构 (de zì jiégòu), the "de-construction." It is everywhere in real speech, because it lets you avoid repeating a noun everyone already has in mind.
Deleting the head noun
Take any attributive phrase — 红色的车, 我的书, 便宜的东西 — and simply omit the noun. What remains is a noun phrase meaning "the [modifier] one(s)."
| Full phrase | Noun dropped | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 红的车 → | 红的 (hóng de) | the red one |
| 便宜的东西 → | 便宜的 (piányi de) | the cheap one(s) |
| 我的书 → | 我的 (wǒ de) | mine |
| 吃的东西 → | 吃的 (chī de) | things to eat |
| 卖菜的人 → | 卖菜的 (mài cài de) | the one who sells veg |
Crucially, there is no "one/ones" word to add. The English the red one tempts learners to hunt for a Chinese equivalent of one — but 的 has already done that job. The phrase 红的 is the noun.
这两件我都不喜欢，有没有红的？
zhè liǎng jiàn wǒ dōu bù xǐhuan, yǒu méiyǒu hóng de
I don't like either of these two — do you have a red one? (informal) — 红的 = 'the red one', no extra word.
这个太贵了，有没有便宜点的？
zhège tài guì le, yǒu méiyǒu piányi diǎn de
This is too expensive — do you have a cheaper one? (informal) — 便宜点的 stands alone as a noun.
这是我的，那是他的。
zhè shì wǒ de, nà shì tā de
This is mine, that's his. (neutral) — pronoun + 的 = a possessive noun.
动词 / clause + 的 = a thing or a person
Nominalisation is not limited to adjectives. Put a verb or a verb phrase before 的 and you get "the thing that is V-ed" or "the one who does V." This is how Chinese names people by what they do — no separate word for -er or seller required.
冰箱里有吃的吗？我饿了。
bīngxiāng li yǒu chī de ma? wǒ è le
Is there anything to eat in the fridge? I'm hungry. (informal) — 吃的 = 'things to eat'.
楼下卖菜的今天没来。
lóuxià mài cài de jīntiān méi lái
The veg seller downstairs didn't come today. (informal) — 卖菜的 names a person by their trade.
开车的是我哥，别紧张。
kāichē de shì wǒ gē, bié jǐnzhāng
The one driving is my older brother, don't worry. (informal) — 开车的 = 'the one driving'.
穿西装的那位是我们老板。
chuān xīzhuāng de nà wèi shì wǒmen lǎobǎn
The one in the suit is our boss. (neutral) — 穿西装的 identifies a person.
When the phrase before 的 grows into a full clause with a subject — 我买的 "the one I bought" — you are one step from a relative clause; the only difference is whether a head noun follows.
你做的比外面买的好吃多了。
nǐ zuò de bǐ wàimiàn mǎi de hǎochī duō le
The ones you make are much tastier than the store-bought ones. (informal) — 做的 vs 买的, two nominalised clauses compared.
刚才送花来的是谁？
gāngcái sòng huā lái de shì shéi
Who was the one that just delivered flowers? (informal) — 送花来的 = 'the one who delivered flowers'.
Common Mistakes
1. Using a bare pronoun to mean "mine / yours". "This is mine" is 这是我的, not 这是我 (which means "this is me").
❌ 这本书是我。
Incorrect — 我 means 'me'; 'mine' needs the nominaliser: 我的.
✅ 这本书是我的。
zhè běn shū shì wǒ de
This book is mine. — 我的 nominalises the possessor.
2. Dropping 的 from the nominalised phrase. Without 的, there is nothing to turn the adjective into a noun.
❌ 有没有便宜？
Incorrect — this asks 'is it cheap?'; 'a cheap one' needs 的: 便宜的.
✅ 有没有便宜的？
yǒu méiyǒu piányi de
Do you have a cheaper one? — 便宜的 is the noun.
3. Forgetting 的 when naming a person by their action. 卖菜 alone is a verb ("sell veg"); the person is 卖菜的.
❌ 楼下卖菜今天没来。
Incorrect — 卖菜 is the activity; the seller is 卖菜的.
✅ 楼下卖菜的今天没来。
lóuxià mài cài de jīntiān méi lái
The veg seller downstairs didn't come today. — 卖菜的 = the person.
4. Adding an English-style "one" word. 的 already means "the … one," so an extra propword is redundant.
❌ 我要那个红的一个。
Awkward — 红的 already means 'the red one'; the extra 一个 is redundant. Say 我要红的 or 我要那个红的.
✅ 我要红的。
wǒ yào hóng de
I want the red one. — 红的 stands alone.
Key Takeaways
- Delete the noun after 的 and the 的-phrase becomes the noun: 红的 (the red one), 我的 (mine), 便宜的 (the cheap one).
- There is no "one/ones" propword — 的 does that work by itself.
- A verb or verb phrase + 的 names a thing or a person: 吃的 (things to eat), 卖菜的 (the veg seller), 开车的 (the driver).
- A full clause + 的 is the same structure with a subject added — one step from a relative clause.
- Don't strip the 的 (便宜 ≠ 便宜的) and don't use a bare pronoun for "mine" (我 ≠ 我的).
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- Adjective + 的 as a Noun (红的)HSK 2 — Drop the head noun after an adjective + 的 and the phrase itself becomes a noun — 'the ___ one': 红的 'the red one', 大的 'the big one', 我要便宜的 'I want the cheap one'. 的 does the work English needs 'one/ones' for.
- 的 in Relative ClausesHSK 3 — A whole clause + 的 modifies a noun — doing the job of English who/that/which — but the clause comes BEFORE the noun: 我买的书 'the book I bought', 昨天来的人 'the person who came yesterday'. Chinese relative clauses are head-final.
- 的 as Attributive / PossessiveHSK 1 — 的 (de) is the all-purpose linker that ties a modifier to the noun it describes — possession (我的书), a noun's property (老师的话), an adjective (漂亮的花) or a whole phrase (很贵的东西): modifier + 的 + noun.
- The 的 Nominalizer (卖菜的)HSK 3 — Attach 的 (de) to a modifier and leave off the noun, and the 的-phrase itself becomes a noun meaning 'the one(s) that …': 红的 (hóng de, 'the red one'), 卖菜的 (mài cài de, 'the greengrocer / the one who sells vegetables'), 我买的 (wǒ mǎi de, 'the one I bought'), 大的还是小的 (dà de háishì xiǎo de, 'the big one or the small one') — where English needs the pronoun 'one' or a relative clause, Chinese just lets 的 dangle and lets context supply the missing noun.