Questions & Answers about zhècì sǔnshī bù dà.
Why does the sentence start with 这次?
这次 means this time or on this occasion. In Chinese, time expressions often come near the beginning of the sentence, before the main comment.
So the structure is roughly:
这次 + 损失 + 不大
this time + loss + not big
A natural English way to think of it is:
- This time, the loss isn’t big.
- The losses this time aren’t great.
Chinese often puts the time/topic first, then says something about it.
Why is it 这次 and not 这的次?
Because 次 here is a measure word / classifier for occasions or times, and demonstratives like 这 and 那 normally go directly before the classifier:
- 这次 = this time / this occasion
- 那次 = that time / that occasion
This is the normal pattern:
这 / 那 + classifier + noun (sometimes omitted)
In 这次, the noun after 次 is omitted because it is understood from context. So 这次 by itself already means this time.
What exactly is 损失 here? Is it a verb or a noun?