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particle
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The character 所 (suǒ) has a few different uses. In this article we’re looking at its use as a
structural particle. Don’t worry if you don’t know what that term means - you can still use
所 correctly without understanding the jargon around it!
所 [verb] 的
As you can see, 所 is placed right before the verb and 的 right after it. This creates a
meaning like “that which is [verb]ed”. Here are some short examples for this structure:
所吃的
suǒ chī de
所知道的
suǒ zhīdào de
所失去的
suǒ shīqù de
With this 所 construction, you can make compound terms that act as nouns in a sentence.
We can expand the basic structure to include this:
所 [verb] 的 [noun]
Here are some examples of these compound nouns:
所吃的菜
所知道的事实
所学到的知识
Note how each of these is nominal. That is, they could all function as nouns in a sentence.
Now let’s expand the structure a little bit more again:
The first noun is the agent. This means it is doing the action of the verb. The second noun
is the patient. This means it is receiving the action of the verb. Let’s have a look at some
examples for this structure:
我所吃的菜
他们所知道的事实
我们所学到的知识
Again, each of these makes a ‘chunk’ that can work as a noun in a sentence. Let’s do just
that and have a look at some full example sentences:
我所吃的菜都是自然的。
他们所知道的事实只有三分之一是正确的。
Tāmen suǒ zhīdào de shìshí zhǐyǒu sān fēn zhī yī shì zhèngquè de.
我们所知道的很少,而我们所不知道的却很多。
Wǒmen suǒ zhīdào de hěn shǎo, ér wǒmen suǒ bù zhīdào de què hěnduō.
軍人所失去的自由太多了。
You might have noticed that in all the examples given here, 所 could be left out and it
would still be grammatical. This shows that 所 is actually optional. It can be used to make
something clearer or to add some formality, but it is not essential.
所谓
suǒwèi
so-called
所得
suǒdé
所有
suǒyǒu
所以
suǒyǐ
所想
suǒ xiǎng
Let’s have a look at some example sentences for these 所 compound words:
这种所谓的翻译非常不好。
我要合计一下学生们所得的总分数。
我所有的衣服都脏了。
这台电脑很旧,所以比较便宜。
Zhè tái diànnǎo hěn jiù, suǒyǐ bǐjiào piányi.
从长远来看,也许结果比你所想的要好。
Cóng chángyuǎn lái kàn, yěxǔ jiéguǒ bǐ nǐ suǒ xiǎng de yāo hǎo.
It might turn out better than you think in the long run.
As usual, if you have any questions or suggestions, please share them in the comments
below!