In Chinese, possession is marked with the particle 的 (de), placed after the "owner" noun or noun phrase. This particle works in a similar way to apostrophe-"s" in English, but is used much more broadly in Chinese. This article highlights one of its simplest and most common usages. Noun 1 + 的 + Noun 2 This means "Noun 1's Noun 2" (where Noun 2 belongs to Noun 1). The structure is super simple. It will take a bit of time before you realize how truly universal this pattern is. It doesn't matter whether the "Noun 1" is a person, place, or thing, or even if it's a pronoun (like "he," "she," or "it"). The structure stays consistent. Examples· 我 的 老师 wǒ de lǎoshīmy teacher· 你 的 手机 nǐ de shǒujī your cell phone · 我们 的 钱 wǒmen de qiánour money · 他们 的 东西 tāmen de dōngxitheir stuff · 爸爸 的 车 bàba de chē dad's car · 你们 的 菜 nǐmen de càiyour food · 北京 的 空气 Běijīng de kōngqì Beijing's air · 公司 的 老板gōngsī de lǎobǎnthe company's boss · 上海 的 天气 Shànghǎi de tiānqì Shanghai's weather · 老师 的 朋友 lǎoshī de péngyouteacher's friend |