Breakdown of tā juéde gǒu hěn kě'ài, māo yě hěn kě'ài.
Questions & Answers about tā juéde gǒu hěn kě'ài, māo yě hěn kě'ài.
In Chinese, when you describe something with an adjective, you usually do not use 是.
The basic pattern is:
Subject + (很) + Adjective
So:
- 狗很可爱 ≈ “Dogs are cute.”
- 这个地方很安静 ≈ “This place is quiet.”
Using 是 before an adjective (狗是可爱) sounds unnatural or wrong in most everyday situations. 是 is mainly used to link nouns or pronouns, like:
- 她是老师。 – “She is a teacher.”
- 这是狗。 – “This is a dog.”
Grammatically, 很 means “very,” but in sentences like 狗很可爱, it often works more like a linking word between the subject and the adjective and is not always strongly felt as “very.”
- 狗很可爱 is usually understood as “Dogs are cute” (maybe “quite cute”) in normal conversation.
- If you want to strongly emphasize “very,” context, tone, or stronger words like 非常, 特别, 真, 太…了 are often used:
- 狗非常可爱。 – Dogs are very cute.
- 狗太可爱了！ – Dogs are so cute!
So you can think:
Subject + 很 + Adjective is the normal way to say “Subject is [adjective].” The “very” feeling can be weak unless emphasized by context.
Normally, no. 狗可爱 by itself sounds incomplete or like a special style (e.g., in headlines or very telegraphic speech).
For a neutral, natural sentence in everyday speech, you almost always put something like 很 (or another degree word) before the adjective:
- ✅ 狗很可爱。 – Natural.
- ✅ 狗非常可爱。 – Natural.
- ❌ 狗可爱。 – Feels odd in normal conversation.
There are special contexts where 狗可爱 might appear (titles, poetry, slogans), but for normal speaking and writing as a learner, you should include 很 (or another adverb of degree).
In Chinese, nouns usually don’t change form for singular/plural, and there is often no article like “a/the.”
So 狗 can mean:
- “a dog”
- “the dog”
- “dogs” (in general)
What it means depends on context.
Examples:
- 我家有狗。 – I have a dog / There’s a dog in my family.
- 她觉得狗很可爱。 – She thinks dogs are cute (dogs in general).
Plural 们 is mainly used after people pronouns or human nouns:
- 他们 – they
- 我们 – we
- 学生们 – the students
You would not normally say 狗们, 猫们 in standard speech.
Measure words are required in Chinese when you use numbers or this/that with a countable noun:
- 一只狗 – one dog
- 两只猫 – two cats
- 那只猫 – that cat
In the sentence 她觉得狗很可爱，猫也很可爱, we are not specifying how many or which dog/cat. We are talking about dogs and cats in general, so no measure word is needed.
If you want to talk about a specific one, you add the measure word:
- 她觉得那只狗很可爱。 – She thinks that dog is cute.
- 她觉得这只猫也很可爱。 – She thinks this cat is also cute.
By itself, 她觉得狗很可爱 is ambiguous and neutral:
- If the context is general (talking about animals as a type), it means
“She thinks dogs (in general) are cute.” - If the context is specific (you are looking at a particular dog), it can be understood as
“She thinks the dog (we’re talking about) is cute.”
Chinese relies heavily on context, not on articles (a/the). Without more context, English translations may choose whichever sounds more natural for the situation.
Yes, that’s natural. In Chinese, if the subject and verb are the same in two connected clauses, the second one often omits them to avoid repetition.
Full form would be:
- 她觉得狗很可爱，(她觉得)猫也很可爱。
But since 她觉得 clearly applies to both parts, you only say it once. This kind of omission is very common and sounds more natural and less repetitive.
觉得 means “to feel / to have the impression that / to think (subjectively)”. It introduces a personal opinion or feeling.
- 她觉得狗很可爱。 – She feels/thinks dogs are cute (her subjective impression).
Differences:
- 想
- Can mean “to think,” but also “to want” or “to miss.”
- 我想他不会来。 – I think he won’t come.
- 我想吃苹果。 – I want to eat apples.
- 认为
- More formal, logical, or reasoned: “to consider,” “to hold the view that.”
- 专家认为这是个好办法。 – Experts consider this a good method.
For simple everyday “I think it’s (adjective)” about your personal impression, 觉得 is the most natural choice.
也 means “also/too” and usually appears before the verb or adjective phrase it modifies.
In this sentence:
- 猫也很可爱
The structure is: 猫 (subject) + 也 (also) + 很可爱 (is very cute)
Common placement patterns:
- 他也喜欢狗。 – He also likes dogs. (也 before the verb 喜欢)
- 我也很忙。 – I am also busy. (也 before 很忙)
You would not normally move 也 to the end as in English “cute too”:
- ❌ 猫很可爱也 – incorrect.
In Chinese, adjectives can function directly as predicates (like verbs). The common pattern is:
Subject + (很/other degree word) + Adjective
So:
- 狗很可爱。 – Dogs are cute.
- 天气很冷。 – The weather is cold.
- 他很高。 – He is tall.
You can think of it as:
- 狗(very-)cute
- 天气(very-)cold
The linking meaning “are/is” is built into the structure; you don’t add 是 before the adjective in normal descriptive sentences.
In spoken Mandarin, 他, 她, and 它 are all pronounced tā (first tone), so you cannot hear the difference.
In writing:
- 他 – he / him (male or generic)
- 她 – she / her (female)
- 它 – it (things, animals, etc., when not personified)
In this sentence, 她 tells you in writing that the person is female:
- 她觉得… – She thinks…
In casual contexts, some people may use 他 generically to mean “he/she,” but standard modern writing usually distinguishes 他 and 她 by gender.
There are two common ways, with slightly different focuses:
Negate 觉得 (she doesn’t have that opinion):
- 她不觉得狗很可爱。
“She doesn’t think dogs are (very) cute.”
- 她不觉得狗很可爱。
Negate the adjective (she thinks they are not cute):
- 她觉得狗不太可爱。 – She thinks dogs are not very cute.
- 她觉得狗不可爱。 – She thinks dogs are not cute. (sounds stronger, less common in everyday speech)
For a direct opposite of the original sentence, 她不觉得狗很可爱 is a good, natural choice.
You can swap 很 for a stronger degree word:
- 非常 – very, extremely
- 她觉得狗非常可爱，猫也非常可爱。
- 特别 – especially, particularly
- 她觉得狗特别可爱，猫也特别可爱。
- 真 – really (spoken, emotional)
- 她觉得狗真可爱，猫也真可爱。
- 太…了 – so / too (very emotional)
- 她觉得狗太可爱了，猫也太可爱了。
All of these sound stronger than the neutral 很, and which one you choose depends on how emotional or formal you want to be.