Chinese word

特别

Pronunciation

Pinyintè bié

Meaning

  • adverbvery

Example

我特别喜欢这个菜。wǒ tè bié xǐ huān zhè ge cài

I really like this dish.

Illustration for 特别 (very)

More examples

这家饭店的菜特别好吃。zhè jiā fàn diàn de cài tè bié hǎo chī

The dishes at this restaurant are very tasty.

Core concept

A quality rises far above the usual level, or one case is singled out from the rest because it stands out.

Common phrases

  • 特别喜欢tè bié xǐ huān

    really like

  • 特别好吃tè bié hǎo chī

    very tasty

  • 特别好看tè bié hǎo kàn

    very pretty

Similar words

很hěn: Shows a fairly high degree, usually before an adjective describing a quality.
非常fēi cháng: Shows an extremely high degree, especially for feelings or evaluations.

Definition in Chinese

表示程度很高，比一般更强烈，也可指某事物在性质或地位上与众不同或突出。biǎo shì chéng dù hěn gāo bǐ yì bān gèng qiáng liè yě kě zhǐ mǒu shì wù zài xìng zhì huò dì wèi shàng yǔ zhòng bù tóng huò tū chū

Word origin

特 (tè, "special") + 别 (bié, "separate") gives the basic idea of something set apart from the ordinary, which naturally extends to a degree that stands out as strong.

Usage tips

  • The English adjective "special" can mislead learners: in Chinese, this word often comes before a verb or adjective to strengthen it, rather than describing a thing as special.

Other meanings

  • especiallyadverb
  • extremelyadverb
  • specialadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word