Particles

Classical Chinese makes use of various particles, ranging from those with grammatical function, to those that would be an entire phrase in English. Chinese Classical particles almost always go before what they modify. This section will cover 10 basic particles.

無 & 然

無

無 corresponds to the English without, and -less, but this particle always goes before what it modifies.

主無食
(zhu3) (wu2) (shi2)

The host is without food.

食, food, is what 無 modifies since it is before it.

王無權
(wang2) (wu2) (quan2)

The king is powerless.

然

This particle, 然, corresponds to the English so,, thus, -ly. It is usually found at the end of what it is modifying. 然 also usually is connected to previously mentioned information when it appears. It can also be understood to be like in some cases. This particle can also modify adjectives, augmenting them.

害盜寶
(hai4) (dao4) (bao3)

善不為然
(shan4) (bu4) (wei2) (ran2)

The evil steal treasures. The virtuous do not act like the evil.

火未知法燎
(huo3) (wei4) (zhi1) (liao2) (fa3) (liao2)
水流然
(shui3) (liu2) (ran2)

Fire blazes in an unknown method. Water flows thusly.

Notice how 然 refers to the previous information established in the first sentence, the in an unknown method, and uses it to augment 流, flow.

不 & 非

不

不 corresponds to the English "not". It simply negates verbs, and verbs only.

無知不生安
(wu2) (zhi1) (bu4) (sheng1) (an1)

Ignorance does not give birth to peace.

不 always goes before the verb it is negating and after the subject.

害不能悟義
(hai4) (bu4) (neng2) (wu4) (yi4)

The evil are not able to understand righteousness.

Here, 不 negates what would be considered the "auxiliary verb" in Western languages, 能, able. 不 always goes in front of the auxiliary verb, same as English. You wouldn't say "I am able not to read", you would say "I am not able to read" in modern English. Same with Classical Chinese.

非

非 negates nouns. It does not have an exact correlation to any English words, but it performs a function similar to what the English "no" does in sentences like "I have no apples." There is, however, a good correlation for 非 in the German language, which is "kein", which is used exclusively to negate nouns, though it is used usually only with their verb for "have".

冕非權
(mian3) (fei1) (quan2)

The royal crown is not power
or
The royal crown is no power

Notice how there is no exact equivalent in English for 非. Also, since many characters can be used as verbs, nouns, and adjectives, and even grammatical particles, as well, particles such as 非 help to determine or clarify what role its associated word(s) play in the sentence.

人非敢以攻公
(ren2) (fei1) (gan3) (yi3) (gong1) (gong1)

The person did not have the courage in order to accuse the duke.

非 negates 敢, daring, courage, which in turn provides the context by which 以攻公, "in order to accuse the duke."

者 & 之

者

者 nominalizes a verb. This commonly corresponds to "those who" in English, also.

巫考士切者
(wu1) (kao3) (shi4) (qie4) (zhe3)

The shaman examined the warrior's cut.

Notice here how 者 nominalizes 切, to cut, wound, allowing it to become more obviously the direct object of 考, check, examine.

大王不信謊者
(da4) (wang2) (bu4) (xin4) (huang3) (zhe3)

Great kings do not trust those who lie.

者 here nominalizes 謊, to lie, making it the direct object of 信, to trust, have confidence in, with the commonly seen "those who".

之

This particle marks subordination (possession), equivalent to the modern Mandarin Chinese 的 and the English ending -'s and "of". It also oftentimes corresponds to "it", as in referring to something preceding it.

藍江之流強也
(lan2) (jiang1) (zhi1) (liu2) (qiang2) (ye3)

The blue river's current is strong.
or
The current of the blue river is strong.

之 subordinates 流, in this case, flow, current, in relation to 藍江, blue river.

子都之城大也
(zi3) (du1) (zhi1) (cheng2) (da4) (ye3)

Your capitol city's walls are large.
or
The city walls of your capitol city are large.

而 & 以

而

而 is a particle with many meanings, some contradictory. Often, 而 is used to represent a change in state or some kind of causal relationship. More concretely, it also can correspond to "as well as", "but not", "and yet", etc..; it is a conjunction. Understanding how this particle is used in a given phrase is key to understanding it, as 而 often sets the tone for the phrase it is in as well as subsequent phrases.

刑匪而孔圄亂國也
(xing2) (fei3) (er2) (kong3) (yu3) (luan4) (guo2) (ye3)

To punish criminals and yet have porous prisons is to have a chaotic country.

而 acts here to provide contrast between 2 statements.

嬰哭而呼
(ying1) (ku1) (er2) (hu1)

The infant cries as well as shouts.

Here, 而 is the conjunction between 哭, cry, and 呼, cry out, connecting their concepts. In this usage, it would be the opposite of the contrasting that 而 supplies in the above sentence.

以

This particle is used to coordinate between 2 phrases or word(s). It often corresponds to the English "by means of", "in order to", "via", and/or "therefore". It is also, depending on context, understood to mean "use", though even in those instances, it is often interchangeable with the other corresponding English words.

子走以腿
(zi3) (zou3) (yi3) (tui3)

The gentleman walks by means of his legs.

The particle 以 is used as in "by means of". It communicates the capacity of 腿, legs, to facilitate the gentleman's ability to walk.

子必叫以篥
(zi3) (bi4) (jiao4) (yi3) (li4)

You must call by using the horn.

The particle here is used to mean "use", but notice that it can be replaced by "by means of" or via".

未 & 莫

未

This particle can also negate verbs or act like a verb, depending on usage. This character usually corresponds to the English "have not", "not yet", and "not".

昔世人未壽
(xi2) (shi4) (ren2) (wei4) (shou4)

People of past ages did not have longevity.

未 provides for the negation of 壽, longevity. Here it is used more as a verb. It is important to note that though 壽 is a noun, 非 isn't used because it is used to negate nouns that is something else. If 非 was used here, the sentence would be "people of the past were not longevity", suggesting that the people of the past could possibly somehow be longevity. 未 is more appropriate because it shows that longevity was something that they did not possess, not something that they weren't.

獵者未切鹿
(lie4) (zhe3) (wei4) (qie4) (lu4)

The hunter has not yet cut the deer.

未 is used here to show that the hunter has not yet cut the deer. Using 不 instead of 未 here would give the impression that the hunter did not cut the deer, and will not any time soon. The usage of 未, however, provides a possibility, signifying that the hunter did not cut the deer now, but it may occur in the future or that the absence of that occurrence is not permanent.

莫

This character can be used either as a verb or part of an entire phrase, and, in some ways, as a noun. 莫 usually corresponds to "none", "no one", "do not", "none", "nothing", no", and "there are/is none who" in English.

在西域莫能讀中文
(zai4) (xi1) (yu4) (mo4) (neng2) (du2) (zhong1) (wen2)

In the Western Regions, there are none who can read Chinese.
or
In the Western Regions, nobody can read Chinese.

Notice how 莫 acts much as a subject. Instead of stating that a specific group or person cannot read Chinese, none can. So, in a sense, 莫 can be understood to be the subject attached to the verb as an indistinct negative grouping word; nobody can etc..

莫初攻最大國
(mo4) (chu1) (gong1) (zui4) (da4) (guo2)

Do not attack the strongest country first.

莫 here is used as "do not". Notice how the "do not" function of this character can logically fit in with its other meanings. This sentence could also be read "no one attack the strongest country first" or "None attack the strongest country first", and it would still have the general meaning of "do not". Learning to differentiate between the "do not" and the phrase that is used more for statements, "there is none who", is important, though this can usually be understood from context. Luckily, there is another particle that corresponds to "do not" in Classical Chinese that will be discussed.

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