In English, "-ly" comes after the adjective — "happily." In Mandarin, the equivalent marker comes before the verb instead. That marker is 地 (de), and it turns an adjective into an adverb so you can describe how an action is performed.
Place an adjective before 地 (de), then add the verb. The result describes how someone does something. Take the example 她高兴地说 (tā gāoxìng de shuō) — "She said happily." Here 高兴 (gāoxìng) means "happy," and 地 (de) converts it into "happily," modifying 说 (shuō, "to say"). You can use this same structure to say a friend listened carefully, spoke happily, or walked slowly — exactly the kind of everyday description this HSK 3 lesson trains.
This is a live conversation lesson: you talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin in real time — voice, not typing. Each lesson targets one specific grammar pattern and takes roughly 10 minutes. Mei Lin corrects grammar and pronunciation in the flow of conversation and adapts to your level. You'll practice forming sentences with 地 (de) by describing how people do things — someone speaks slowly, studies seriously, or laughs happily. The key sentence you'll work toward is 她高兴地说："太好了！" (tā gāoxìng de shuō: "tài hǎo le!") — "She happily said: 'That's great!'"
You can explore more on the HSK 3 lessons hub page, or try another HSK 3 live lesson on "Describing Change" (变 / 变成) or "Dual Descriptions" (又...又). To reinforce your writing, the free printable Chinese worksheet generator offers ready-made packs covering HSK 1–3 words.
The first lesson is free to try, so you can start talking with Mei Lin right away.
地 (de) turns an adjective into an adverb, letting you describe how an action is performed. You place the adjective before 地 (de), then add the verb — like 她高兴地说 (tā gāoxìng de shuō), "She said happily." It works like adding "-ly" in English, but the marker goes before the verb, not after the adjective.
In this live conversation lesson, you talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin and practice forming sentences with 地 (de) to describe how people do things — speaking slowly, studying seriously, or laughing happily. Mei Lin corrects your grammar and pronunciation as you converse, adapting to your level.
Yes — the first lesson is free to try. You'll spend roughly 10 minutes practicing the 地 (de) pattern in live conversation with Mei Lin, getting corrections on grammar and pronunciation before deciding to continue.
After this Describing How lesson, you can move on to another HSK 3 live lesson like "Describing Change" (变 / 变成) or "Dual Descriptions" (又...又). You can also browse the HSK 3 lessons hub page for more grammar patterns to practice in live conversation with Mei Lin.