Breakdown of qǐng bǎohù nǐ de yǎnjing.
你nǐ
you
的de
possessive particle
请qǐng
to ask (politely)
保护bǎohù
to protect
Questions & Answers about qǐng bǎohù nǐ de yǎnjing.
What does 请 do at the beginning of the sentence?
请 is often used like please in English. Here, it makes the sentence sound polite:
请保护你的眼睛。
= Please protect your eyes.
In Chinese, 请 is commonly placed before the verb or action being requested.
Examples:
- 请坐。 = Please sit.
- 请看这里。 = Please look here.
So in this sentence, 请 politely introduces the request 保护你的眼睛.
Is the word order the same as in English?
Almost, yes. The structure is:
So:
- 请 = please
- 保护 = protect
- 你的 = your
- 眼睛 = eyes
That gives:
请保护你的眼睛。
Literally: Please protect your eyes.
Chinese often follows a fairly direct word order here, so this sentence is not especially tricky.
Why is 保护 used here, and what kind of word is it?
保护 is a verb meaning to protect.
It can be used with many kinds of objects, not just body parts:
- 保护环境 = protect the environment
- 保护孩子 = protect children
- 保护眼睛 = protect one’s eyes
It is a very common and useful verb in formal or semi-formal Chinese. In health advice, school materials, and signs, 保护 is extremely common.