Breakdown of wǒ juéde tā de zhōngwén yuèláiyuè hǎo.
Questions & Answers about wǒ juéde tā de zhōngwén yuèláiyuè hǎo.
觉得 means “to feel / to think” in the sense of giving your subjective opinion or impression.
- 我觉得他的中文越来越好。
= I feel / think his Chinese is getting better and better. (personal impression)
Compared to other verbs:
想:
- to want to: 我想喝咖啡。 – I want to drink coffee.
- to think (more neutral, often about mental activity or planning):
我在想这件事。 – I’m thinking about this matter.
认为:
“to think, to believe” but sounds more formal, logical, or reasoned:- 我认为这个办法不太好。 – I believe this method is not very good.
Here 觉得 is best because you’re just giving an opinion based on how it seems to you, not making a formal judgment or talking about wanting/planning something.
The 的 after 他 is the possessive marker, similar to English “’s” or “of”.
- 他 = he / him
- 的 = possessive particle
- 中文 = Chinese (language)
So 他的中文 literally means “his Chinese (language)”.
Structure: [possessor] + 的 + [thing possessed]
- 我的书 – my book
- 她的老师 – her teacher
- 中国的文化 – Chinese culture
In informal spoken Chinese, some people do say 他中文 without 的, especially with pronouns (我/你/他) plus a short, close “noun phrase” (like 中文, 书, 话).
So you might hear:
- 我觉得他中文越来越好。
However:
- With pronouns + simple nouns, dropping 的 is possible but more casual.
- In standard, careful Chinese, 他的中文 with 的 is safer and always correct.
- In writing or in exams, it’s better to keep the 的: 我觉得他的中文越来越好。
In Chinese, degree or change expressions like 越来越 usually go before the adjective, not after it.
The pattern here is:
- Subject + 的 + Noun + 越来越 + Adjective
- 他的中文 + 越来越 + 好
So:
- ✔ 他的中文越来越好。 – His Chinese is getting better and better.
- ✘ 他的中文好越来越。 – Wrong word order.
Other examples:
- 天气越来越冷。 – The weather is getting colder and colder.
- 她的中文越来越流利。 – Her Chinese is getting more and more fluent.
越来越 + adjective expresses a continuous change in one direction (usually becoming more of that adjective over time).
General pattern:
- Subject + 越来越 + Adj
Examples:
- 他越来越忙。 – He’s getting busier and busier.
- 城市越来越大。 – The city is getting bigger and bigger.
- 中文越来越重要。 – Chinese is becoming more and more important.
In your sentence:
- 他的中文 = his Chinese
- 越来越好 = is becoming better and better
So the structure is:
他的中文 + 越来越 + 好
越来越 can be used with:
Adjectives (most common):
- 他越来越高。 – He’s getting taller and taller.
- 她越来越漂亮。 – She’s getting more and more beautiful.
Verbs or verb phrases, often where the verb expresses a state or tendency:
- 我越来越喜欢中文。 – I like Chinese more and more.
- 他越来越会说中文。 – He’s more and more able to speak Chinese.
- 大家越来越了解中国文化。 – People understand Chinese culture more and more.
Pattern:
- Subject + 越来越 + (Verb / Verb Phrase)
But not all verbs sound natural; it generally works best with verbs of emotion, ability, tendency, or habit (喜欢, 理解, 会, 习惯, etc.).
In this kind of sentence, 是 is usually not needed and often sounds unnatural.
- 是 is typically used to equate two things:
- 他是老师。 – He is a teacher.
- 这是我的书。 – This is my book.
But 越来越好 is already a predicate (a “verb phrase” meaning “is getting better and better”). You don’t need another 是 in front of it.
- ✔ 他的中文越来越好。
- ✘ 他的中文是越来越好。 (Generally unnatural as a neutral statement.)
You might occasionally hear 是越来越好 in special contexts for emphasis or contrast (e.g., 他的中文是越来越好，可是……), but as a simple neutral statement, leave 是 out.
Both are possible, but there is a nuance:
越来越好 – Focus on the process / ongoing change:
- “is getting better and better”
越来越好了 – Emphasizes that this change has already happened to some noticeable extent; the improvement is now evident:
- “has become much better (and is still improving)”
In your sentence:
- 我觉得他的中文越来越好。
Neutral statement about a continuing trend.
If you say:
- 我觉得他的中文越来越好了。
You’re often implying: I can clearly notice the improvement now.
You can say:
- 我觉得他的汉语越来越好。
Both are correct, but:
中文
- Literally “Chinese language/writing”
- Very common in everyday speech
- Feels a bit more general and casual
汉语
- Literally “Han language” (the language of the Han ethnic group)
- Slightly more formal / linguistic, often used in textbooks, course names, etc.
In daily conversation, 中文 is extremely common, so 他的中文越来越好 sounds very natural.
These three particles are all pronounced “de”, but they have different roles and usually different characters:
的
- Used after nouns/pronouns to show possession or attribution:
- 他的中文 – his Chinese
- 漂亮的衣服 – pretty clothes
- Used after nouns/pronouns to show possession or attribution:
得
- Used after verbs to introduce a complement (degree, result, etc.):
- 说得很好 – speak very well
- 跑得很快 – run very fast
- Used after verbs to introduce a complement (degree, result, etc.):
地
- Used after adjectives or adverbs to modify a verb:
- 认真地学习 – study seriously
- 慢慢地走 – walk slowly
- Used after adjectives or adverbs to modify a verb:
In 觉得, the de is part of the word itself (a fixed disyllabic verb: 觉 + 得). It’s not acting as a separate grammatical particle. That’s why it’s normally written 觉得, not 分开 as 觉 + 的.
Pronunciation details:
- 我 wǒ – 3rd tone
- 觉 jué – 2nd tone
- 得 de (in 觉得) – usually pronounced in a neutral tone in normal speech
- 他 tā – 1st tone
- 的 de – neutral tone
- 中 zhōng – 1st tone
- 文 wén – 2nd tone
- 越 yuè – 4th tone
- 来 lái – 2nd tone
- 越 yuè – 4th tone
- 好 hǎo – 3rd tone
There are no special sandhi (tone change) rules in this sentence beyond the usual:
- Multiple 3rd tones in a row can undergo tone sandhi, but here they’re mostly separated by other tones, so they’re pronounced fairly clearly.
In conversation, 觉得 often sounds like jué‧de with the second syllable light and quick.
Yes, but the meaning changes:
- 更好 (gèng hǎo) = “even better / better (by comparison)”
- 越来越好 (yuè lái yuè hǎo) = “better and better / increasingly better over time”
更好 is about comparison at one point:
- 他的中文比去年更好。 – His Chinese is better than last year.
越来越好 is about gradual change over time:
- 他的中文越来越好。 – His Chinese keeps getting better and better.
So if you want to emphasize ongoing improvement, 越来越好 is the right choice, as in your sentence.