# 的 Links Modifier to Noun 39,808 Times

> 的 links a modifier to the noun it describes in about 39,808 clauses of the Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified), out of 46,871 occurrences of 的 in the text.

**Pattern:** modifier + 的 + noun
**HSK level:** 1 — the highest HSK level of the point's own function words, as data/dict.json grades them; a word the HSK lists do not grade sends the point to 'beyond'
**Rule used to find it:** 的 read de, with another word after it in the same clause — the noun it modifies.
**Confidence:** approximate — 30 of 39,808 matches checked, 87% correct, by Claude Opus 5, reading each sampled clause in context; not a native speaker

的 is the commonest word in the Chinese Bible and the first piece of grammar a reader meets. Whatever describes a noun — an owner, an adjective, a whole clause — is placed in front of it and joined with 的, so 神的爱 is the love of God and 信他的 is the one who believes in him. English builds the same idea in two directions, before the noun and after it; Chinese only builds it in one.

The Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified) uses 的 46,871 times. 7,063 of those occurrences are the same words doing something else.

The occurrences that are not this construction are mostly the headless kind, where 的 ends the phrase and the noun is left to be understood — 所吩咐的, what was commanded. That is the same particle doing a related job, and it is the shape the New Testament letters lean on hardest.

It is commonest in Psalms, with 3,121 of them, and 79% of all of them fall in the Old Testament — which is mostly a statement about length, since the Old Testament is the longer part of the book.

## Examples

- **Job 35:4** — 我要回答你和在你这里的朋友。
  - wǒ yào huí dá nǐ hé zài nǐ zhè lǐ de péng you 。
  - I will answer you, and your companions with you.
  - construction: 的朋友
- **Mark 15:35** — 旁边站着的人，有的听见就说：「看哪，他叫以利亚呢！」
  - páng biān zhàn zhe de rén ， yǒu de tīng jiàn jiù shuō ：「 kàn nǎ ， tā jiào yǐ lì yà ne ！」
  - Some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.”
  - construction: 的人
- **John 9:10** — 他们对他说：「你的眼睛是怎么开的呢？」
  - tā men duì tā shuō ：「 nǐ de yǎn jing shì zěn me kāi de ne ？」
  - They therefore were asking him, “How were your eyes opened?”
  - construction: 的眼睛
- **Leviticus 26:29** — 并且你们要吃儿子的肉，也要吃女儿的肉。
  - bìng qiě nǐ men yào chī ér zi de ròu ， yě yào chī nǚ ér de ròu 。
  - You will eat the flesh of your sons, and you will eat the flesh of your daughters.
  - construction: 的肉
- **Matthew 10:12** — 进他家里去，要请他的安。
  - jìn tā jiā lǐ qù ， yào qǐng tā de ān 。
  - As you enter into the household, greet it.
  - construction: 的安
- **Genesis 24:23** — 说：「请告诉我，你是谁的女儿？你父亲家里有我们住宿的地方没有？」
  - shuō ：「 qǐng gào sù wǒ ， nǐ shì shuí de nǚ ér ？ nǐ fù qīn jiā lǐ yǒu wǒ men zhù sù de dì fāng méi yǒu ？」
  - and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room in your father’s house for us to stay?”
  - construction: 的女儿

## The words this point is built on

| Word | Reading | HSK | Occurrences |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 的 | de | 1 | 46,850 |
| 的 | dī | 1 | 16 |
| 的 | dì | 1 | 5 |

The HSK column is the level data/dict.json gives the word, and it is what puts this point at level 1.

## What those occurrences are doing

|  | Occurrences | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| the construction | 39,808 | 85% |
| the same words doing something else | 7,063 | 15% |

## Where it occurs most

| Book | Clauses |
| --- | --- |
| Psalms | 3,121 |
| Jeremiah | 2,191 |
| Isaiah | 2,187 |
| Ezekiel | 1,981 |
| Genesis | 1,789 |

Counted from what the rule matched, before the audit — a ranking, not a published total.

## Questions

**Is 的 the same as an apostrophe-s?**

It covers that and more. Possession is one use; the same particle attaches an adjective or an entire clause, which is why it can appear 46,871 times in one book without ever meaning only "belonging to".

**How often does it occur in the Chinese Bible?**

about 39,808 clauses in the Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified), out of 46,871 occurrences of the words that mark it.

**Which book of the Bible uses it most?**

Psalms, with 3,121 — followed by Jeremiah (2,191), Isaiah (2,187), Ezekiel (1,981).

**How do you know the count is right?**

The rule is: 的 read de, with another word after it in the same clause — the noun it modifies. 30 of its 39,808 matches were drawn at random and checked one by one; 87% were right. Recall is not measured, so the figure is what this rule finds, not everything the translation contains.

Page: https://chinese-bible.com/en/grammar/de-attributive

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