Chinese particles

In classical philology, words are divided into two classes: the ''shízì'' and the ''xūzì'' . The former include what modern linguists call verbs, nouns, and adjectives, while the latter includes what modern linguists call s. Opinions differ as to which category pronouns and adverbs belong to. Chinese particles are also known as ''yǔzhù'' , ''zhùzì'' , ''zhùcí'' , ''yǔcí'' or simply ''cí'' .

Functions

The function of a Chinese particle depends on its position in the sentence, and the context. The character for a Chinese particle is only , thus the same particle can be written with different characters. For example, qí/jī , a common particle in classical Chinese have, among others, the following meanings:



In modern Chinese, an important function of particles is to show s. The particle le is used to indicate a completed action, for example, Tā z?u le ; and the particle zhe 着 is used to indicate a continuing action, for example, Tā shuìzhejiào shí yǒurén qiāomén .

Studies

The first book devoted to the studies of the Chinese particles is ''Speech Helpers'' by Lu Yiwei of the Yuan Dynasty. More important works concerning the particles followed, including ''Some Notes on the Helping Words'' by Liu Qi and ''Explanations of the Articles Found in the Classics'' by Wang Yinzhi , both published during the Qing Dynasty. These works focus on the particles found in the Confucius classics, paying little attentions to the particles used in the vernacular literature. The ''Compilation and Explanations of the Colloquial Terms Found in Classical Poetry and Operas'' by Zhang Xiang , published posthumously in 1953, was the first work covering the particles found in the vernacular literature.

Parts of speech

*Chinese pronouns
*Chinese adjectives
*Chinese verbs
*Chinese grammar