wǒ de yǎnjing hěn lèi.

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Breakdown of wǒ de yǎnjing hěn lèi.

• 很hěn: very
• 的de: possessive particle
• 累lèi: tired

Questions & Answers about wǒ de yǎnjing hěn lèi.

Why is 的 used in 我的眼睛?

的 marks possession, so 我的眼睛 means my eyes.

The pattern is:

我 + 的 + 眼睛
= my eyes

In Chinese, 的 is very commonly used between a person and a noun they possess.

With body parts, native speakers sometimes omit 的 in casual speech, especially in certain sentence patterns, but 我的眼睛 is clear, natural, and very safe for learners.

Why is 很 in the sentence? Does it really mean very here?

Not always. In sentences like this, 很 often does not need to be translated as a strong very.

In Mandarin, when an adjective like 累 is used as the main predicate, Chinese often adds 很 to make the sentence sound natural and neutral.

So:

我的眼睛很累
usually means
My eyes are tired / My eyes feel tired

If you stress 很, then it can sound more like very tired.

So 很 here is often functioning more like a natural adjective marker than a strongly emphatic very.

Why is there no verb like are in this sentence?