The particle 的 de is the most used character in modern Chinese. It adds information to following nouns or preceding verbs.
| 老 | 师 | 的 | 茶 | 杯 | 。 |
| lǎo | shī | de | chá | bēi | _ |
| old | teacher | particle | tea | cup | _ |
| teacher | particle | teacup | 。 | ||
| The teacher's tea cup. | |||||
| 我 | 的 | 车 | 。 |
| wǒ | de | chē | _ |
| I | particle | car | _ |
| my, mine | vehicle | 。 | |
| My car. | |||
| 他 | 的 | 书 | 。 |
| tā | de | shū | _ |
| he | particle | book | _ |
| his | book | 。 | |
| His book. | |||
The noun is not always mentioned. In certain situations it is only thought of.
| 老 | 师 | 的 | 。 |
| lǎo | shī | de | _ |
| old | teacher | particle | _ |
| teacher | particle | 。 | |
| The teacher's (tea cup). | |||