Basic Sentences: Articles and Plural in Mandarin Chinese

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Chinese nouns do not have articles, such as "the" and "a" in English, nor do they have a plural form.

So the word 大学 (dàxué) can any of the following mean:

  • a university
  • the university
  • the universities
  • universities

The context usually makes clear which is meant. There are however ways to stress what is meant:

  • 一所大学 (yī suǒ dàxué) - Literal: one [MW] university - One university
  • 这些/那些 大学 (zhèxiē/nàxiē dàxué) - these/those universities

<< Chinese Grammar

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