Learn Hardcore Chinese: Zhè shuāng lánsè de xiézi hěn gānjìng, kànqǐlái yě hěn héshì. - This pair of blue shoes is very clean and also looks very suitable.

这Zhè　双shuāng　蓝色lánsè　的de　鞋子xiézi　很hěn　干净gānjìng，　看起来kànqǐlái　也yě　很hěn　合适héshì。Zhè shuāng lánsè de xiézi hěn gānjìng, kànqǐlái yě hěn héshì.

This pair of blue shoes is very clean and also looks very suitable.

Breakdown of Zhè shuāng lánsè de xiézi hěn gānjìng, kànqǐlái yě hěn héshì.

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Questions & Answers about Zhè shuāng lánsè de xiézi hěn gānjìng, kànqǐlái yě hěn héshì.

Why isn’t there any verb 是 (“to be”) between 鞋子 and 很干净? In English we say “The shoes are very clean.”

In Chinese, many adjectives act like verbs; they already mean “to be + adjective.”

干净 by itself already means “to be clean.”
So (这双蓝色的) 鞋子很干净 literally feels like “These shoes clean (to a certain degree).”

When you use an adjective as the main predicate (the main “verb” of the sentence), you normally do not use 是 before it:

✅ 鞋子很干净。 – The shoes are (very) clean.
❌ 鞋子是很干净。 – This is only used in special emphasis/contrast, not as the neutral form.

So the normal pattern is:

[Subject] + (degree word, often 很) + adjective

No 是 is needed in front of a predicate adjective in the neutral case.

Does 很 really mean “very” here? It feels like too much if I always say “very clean” and “very suitable.”

很 is a degree adverb, but in modern spoken Chinese it often functions more like a link between the subject and an adjective, rather than always meaning a strong “very.”

In this sentence:

这双蓝色的鞋子很干净
看起来也很合适。

In neutral statements (not comparing, not emphasizing), 很 usually does not sound as strong as English “very.”
It often just makes the sentence feel natural and complete, like a default marker with adjectives.

If you really want to emphasize “very,” you can use context, intonation, or stronger words like:

非常干净 – extremely clean
特别合适 – especially suitable

So here you can usually understand:

很干净 ≈ “(quite) clean / is clean”
很合适 ≈ “(quite) suitable / fits well”

not necessarily a strong “very.”

Why do we need 的 after 蓝色 in 蓝色的鞋子?

的 is a particle that links a modifier to a noun.

Here, 蓝色 (“blue (color)”) is describing 鞋子 (“shoes”), so we use:

蓝色的鞋子 – blue shoes

The pattern is:

[describing word/phrase] + 的 + [noun]

Examples:

中国的菜 – Chinese food
新的电脑 – new computer
漂亮的衣服 – pretty clothes

With colors, both 蓝鞋子, 蓝色鞋子, and 蓝色的鞋子 can appear, but [颜色 + 的 + N] is a very common and natural pattern, especially in neutral descriptive sentences.

What is the correct word order in 这双蓝色的鞋子? Why is it not something like 这蓝色双的鞋子?

Chinese has a fairly fixed order for this type of noun phrase:

这 + [measure word] + [describing phrase] + 的 + [noun]

So:

这 – this
双 – measure word for “pair (of)”
蓝色的 – blue (describing phrase with 的)
鞋子 – shoes

Put together:

这 + 双 + 蓝色的 + 鞋子
→ 这双蓝色的鞋子 – this pair of blue shoes

You cannot move the measure word after the color like in English (“blue pair of shoes”). In Chinese the measure word must come immediately after 这 / 那 / 一 / 两 etc.

What does 双 mean here, and when do we use it instead of other measure words?

双 (shuāng) is the measure word for pairs of things that naturally come in twos:

一双鞋子 – a pair of shoes
一双筷子 – a pair of chopsticks
一双手 – a pair of hands

General pattern:

[Number / 这 / 那] + 双 + [something that comes in pairs]

We don’t use 个 for shoes when we mean “a pair”:

✅ 一双鞋子 – one pair of shoes
🚫 一个鞋子 – one shoe (and even then it’s usually 一只鞋 for a single shoe)

So 这双蓝色的鞋子 = “this pair of blue shoes.”

What’s the difference between 鞋 and 鞋子? Could I say 这双蓝色的鞋 instead?

Both 鞋 and 鞋子 can mean “shoes,” and both are commonly used.

鞋子 is slightly more casual/common in everyday speech.
鞋 is a bit shorter and may sound a little more written or combined in compounds (like 皮鞋, leather shoes).

You can say:

这双蓝色的鞋子 – very natural
这双蓝色的鞋 – also natural

Most of the time they are interchangeable in this context.

What exactly does 看起来 mean here? Is it “looks,” “seems,” or something else?

看起来 (kànqǐlái) literally means “looking-come-out,” and is usually translated as:

“looks …”
“seems … (from appearance)”
“appears …”

In this sentence:

看起来也很合适。

it means: “(They) also look very suitable / They seem to fit well (from how they look).”

General pattern:

[Subject] + 看起来 + (很) + adjective

Examples:

他看起来很累。 – He looks tired.
这个地方看起来很安静。 – This place looks very quiet.

It expresses a judgment based on what you see.

Where should 看起来 go in the sentence? Could I say 也看起来很合适 instead?

In this sentence:

看起来也很合适

the word order is:

看起来 – “it looks / appears”
也 – also
很合适 – very suitable

You could, in theory, say 也看起来很合适, but:

看起来也很合适 is the most natural and common order here.
也 is usually placed before the adjective or the whole predicate it’s modifying, but it also tends to follow other sentence adverbs / verbs like 看起来.

Think of 看起来 almost as part of the “verb,” and 也 as modifying the whole “looks very suitable” idea:

(It) 看起来 – looks
也 – also
很合适 – very suitable

What is the function of 也 in 看起来也很合适? How is it different from 和 (“and”)?

也 (yě) means “also / too / as well.”

In the sentence:

这双蓝色的鞋子很干净，看起来也很合适。

The structure is basically:

They are very clean,
and they also look very suitable.

So 也 connects the second statement to the first by adding new, similar information.

和 (hé), on the other hand, is like “and” used mainly to link nouns or noun phrases:

我和你 – you and I
鞋和袜子 – shoes and socks

You can’t simply replace 也 with 和 here:

❌ 看起来和很合适 – incorrect

Why do we have 很 twice? Could I say 很干净，看起来也合适 without the second 很?

Both forms are possible:

很干净，看起来也很合适。
很干净，看起来也合适。

Differences:

With the second 很, the rhythm is smoother and the two parts feel more parallel:
- 很干净 / 很合适
Without it, 也合适 is still correct, but slightly more clipped in style.

In everyday speech:

People very often use 很 before adjectives, even when it’s not strongly emphasizing “very.”
Having 很 before both 干净 and 合适 sounds very natural and balanced.

So your version without the second 很 is acceptable, but the original is a bit more typical and fluent.

What’s the difference between 合适 and 适合? Could I say 看起来也很适合?

Both relate to “suitability,” but they are used differently:

合适 (héshì) – adjective: suitable, appropriate
- Pattern: [something] + 很合适
- Example:
  - 这个大小很合适。 – This size is very suitable.
适合 (shìhé) – verb: to suit / to be suitable for
- Pattern: [something] + 适合 + [someone / something]
- Example:
  - 这双鞋适合你。 – This pair of shoes suits you.

In your sentence, the focus is on “these shoes (are) suitable,” so adjective 合适 is perfect:

看起来也很合适。 – They also look very suitable.

You could use 适合 in a different structure, for example:

这双蓝色的鞋子看起来也很适合你。
– This pair of blue shoes also looks very suitable for you.

Could we drop 的 and just say 蓝色鞋子 or 蓝鞋子? Is there any difference?

Yes, you might see:

蓝色鞋子
蓝鞋子
蓝色的鞋子

They are all understandable. Differences:

蓝色的鞋子
- Very standard and neutral; 的 clearly marks “blue” as a modifier of “shoes.”
蓝色鞋子 / 蓝鞋子
- Slightly more compact; can sound a bit more casual or compound-like.

In careful or textbook-style description, [颜色 + 的 + 鞋子] (like 蓝色的鞋子) is the safest and most universally natural pattern.

The sentence has a comma: 很干净，看起来也很合适. Is this like saying “...is very clean, and also looks very suitable” in English?

Yes. The comma is separating two related clauses that share the same subject (the shoes):

(这双蓝色的鞋子) 很干净 – They are very clean.
(这双蓝色的鞋子) 看起来也很合适 – They also look very suitable.

Chinese often omits the repeated subject in the second clause and just uses a comma:

天气很好，出去玩儿的人很多。
– The weather is good, and (so) there are many people going out to play.

So your understanding as “…is very clean, and also looks very suitable” is exactly right.