suffix –tou is used to describe a part of a hand
1. zhĭ 指 ‘finger’ + -tou 头
zh ĭtou 指头’finger’
2. quán 拳 ‘fist’ + -tou quántou 拳头 ‘fist’
4.3 Suffix –le ‘了’, -zhe ‘ 着’, -guo ‘ 过’
The aspectual particles ‘-le’, ‘-zhe’, ‘-guo’ can be suffixed to most verbs.
4.3.1 Suffix ‘ –le’ The suffix ‘-le’ is used to describe an activity has completely done
The word-formation rule of can be seen as follows:
verb or adjective + -le showing an activity has completely done
For example : verb and adjective + -le 1.
tīng 听 ‘to listen’ + -le 了 tīngle 听了’already listened’
2. jiăng 讲 ‘to talk’ + -le 了 jiăngle 讲了’already talked’
3. zhŭ 煮 ‘to cook’ + -le 了 zhŭle 煮了 ‘already cooked’
4. bǎo 抱 ‘to be full’ + -le 了
b ǎole 抱了 ‘be already full’
Universitas Sumatera Utara
我 等了半天他还没来。
w ǒ děng le bān tiān tā hái měi lái.
I already waited half day, he not come yet. I have waited for him for half a day already, yet he does not come yet.
你去先， 我 下了 班马上去。
N ǐ qǜ xiān, wǒ xià le bān mǎ shàng qǜ.
You go first, I go finish working right away. You go first, I will be going right away after I have already finished working.
4.3.2 Suffix –le is used to show certainty
verb + -le showing certainty
For instance : xià y ǔ le.
下雨了。
It’s rained.
Universitas Sumatera Utara
4.3.3 Suffix ‘-zhe’ The suffix –zhe is used to convey an activity is still happening.
The word-formation rule is as follows: verb + -zhe showing an activity which is still happening
The examples can be seen as follows: 1.
zuò 坐 ‘to sit’ + -zhe 着 zuòzhe 坐着 ‘sitting’
2. păo 跑 ‘to run’ + -zhe 着
p ăozhe 跑着 ‘ running’
3. tiào 跳 ‘to jump’ + -zhe 着
tiàozhe 跳着 ‘jumping’
4. dú 读 ‘to read’ + - zhe 着 dúzhe 读着 ‘reading’
5. tīng 听 ‘to listen’ + -zhe 着
tīngzhe 听着 ‘listening’
4.3.4 Suffix ‘-guo’ The suffix –guo in Chinese shows an activity has ever done before and is
attached at the end of a verb.
verb + -guo showing an activity has been done before
The examples are as follows:
Universitas Sumatera Utara
1. tīng 听 ‘to listen’ + -guo 过
tīngguo 听过 ‘ever listened’
2. chàng 唱 ‘to sing’ + -guo 过 chàngguo 唱过 ‘ever sung’
3. cháng 尝 ‘to taste’ + -guo 过 chángguo 尝过 ‘ever tasted’
4. xué 学 ‘to study’ + - guo 过 xuéguo 学过 ‘ever studied’
5. xiě 写 ‘to write’ + - guo 过
xiěguo 写过 ‘ever written’
It should be noted that the morpheme ‘-guo’, if it stands alone and is pronounced as guò 过 ‘to pass’, it will be a free morpheme.
4.4 Word Formation Methods for Compounding
