<p>体贴 (to be considerate) is intransitive, it cannot take a direct object. So you can be &quot;considerate towards your parents&quot; but you cannot &quot;considerate your parents&quot;. In a similar vein, you can be &quot;happy for someone&quot; but you cannot &quot;happy someone&quot;.</p>
<p>关心 (to be concerned about), on the other hand, is transitive. It can take a direct object.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Whether 体贴 can be considered intransitive appears to be a matter of debate. I'll start by saying that <strong>in Mandarin adjectives cannot take objects</strong>. This is made explicitly clear on <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Adjective" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the Chinese grammar wiki</a>, hopefully I wont be forced to find additional sources to back this claim. It follows, then, that any instance of an adjectival verb is intransitive.</p>
<p>All that remains to be seen is whether 体贴 is an adjective or not. <a href="https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BD%93%E8%B4%B4/9398039" rel="nofollow noreferrer">It is</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/zMUit.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/zMUit.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>A sentence in the form 我很体贴 where 我 is the subject and 很体贴 is the predicate/verb phrase cannot have a direct object. joehua has linked to several examples of the contrary, sentences where 体贴 has been shown to take a direct object. Why this is, I don't know. Either the term is being misused or it has taken on a different meaning in those sentences. Take for example <a href="https://zaojv.com/3289436.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this page</a> that joehua linked. It has the example sentence &quot;他从小就知道体贴父母&quot; which at face value invalidates everything I've just said. But if you type that exact sentence into <a href="https://fanyi.baidu.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Baidu's translator</a> it will output &quot;He has been considerate of his parents since he was a child&quot;, taking that English sentence and plugging it back into the translator will give the output &quot;他从小就对父母很体贴&quot;. Evidently one is more correct than the other.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/CFLwj.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/CFLwj.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://mandarinfriend.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/what-are-%E5%BD%A2%E5%AE%B9%E8%AF%8D-are-they-adjectives-or-adjectival-stative-verbs/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Yet even more proof</a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/xshPn.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/xshPn.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-30T20:05:29.837Z
《初刻拍案驚奇》卷一三：「那趙聰也到會體貼他夫妻兩人的意思，常只是詐病佯疾，不進學堂。」《紅樓夢》第五一回：「你們固然不敢抱怨，未免想著我只顧疼這些小孫子孫女兒們，就不體貼你們這當家人了。」I believe in the two examples above, 體貼 is transitive
joehua
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-30T23:07:21.717Z
@joehua any more modern examples? one 9d those is several centuries old and the other decades old, I looked the term up in several online dictionaries and didn't see it being used with a direct object. Could be a matter of language changing with time, could be a matter of dialect, could be a matter of the word having multiple meanings...
小奥利奥
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-30T23:18:23.193Z
@joehua https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E9%AB%94%E8%B2%BC
小奥利奥
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T01:36:03.883Z
Did you check 漢典 and 國語詞典? I found the two examples I quoted in these two dictionaries.
joehua
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T02:22:16.160Z
yes, that's what I linked. And as 8 said, those are two excerpts from outdated books
小奥利奥
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T02:41:41.617Z
https://zaojv.com/3289436.html
joehua
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T02:42:40.793Z
https://chinesepod.com/dictionary/english-chinese/%E4%BD%93%E8%B4%B4
joehua
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T04:15:38.247Z
Do we have to remember what verb is intransitive and what verb is transitive in chinese?
Xin Wei
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T04:47:19.517Z
@sinwi I've been at work all day, when I get home in couple hours I'll edit my answer. Adjectives verbs in Mandarin are always intransitive
小奥利奥
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-02T11:58:33.157Z
I find it extremely strange that you took a Chinese sentence, translated it into English, then, from English back to Chinese, and claimed the translated Chinese sentence is better than the original. I wonder who would buy that? Certainly not me. And you think體貼in 體貼父母is an adjective, not a verb? I have always thought it a verb.
joehua
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-02T15:00:48.877Z
@joehua What's weird about it, the fact that the translator agrees with me? 体贴 is an adjective. Adjectives in Chinese all have the additional function of being an adjectival verb (to be [something]). Adjectival verbs can never take an object, they are always intransitive. I've already said like 3 times, for it to take a direct object then it is either being used incorrectly or it has taken in a different meaning entirely. The fact that the translator uses 体贴 intransitively backs this.
小奥利奥
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-02T15:02:57.760Z
I've provided a source declaring the word as an adjective, I've provided a source declaring that adjectives cannot take direct objects, and I've demonstrated that a Chinese-made translator would not use that word transitively, i am done talking about it.
小奥利奥
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-02T20:23:50.740Z
https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=en&tl=zh-TW&text=He%20has%20been%20considerate%20of%20his%20parents%20since%20he%20was%20a%20child
user6332430
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-02T20:24:45.043Z
以上是Google翻譯出來的， 請問這個如何解釋
user6332430
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-04T02:32:36.693Z
I just saw your edit, thank you so much for the detail
Xin Wei
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-04T03:07:38.217Z
When it comes to translation, have we reached the stage where machines are better than, or at least as good as, human? I may be old fashion but I trust human more than machines.
joehua
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-04T03:09:43.190Z
If 體貼 is an adjective and intransitive, what is the function of 父母 in 體貼父母?
joehua
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-30T06:40:37.363Z
2020-10-02T15:25:32.997Z
2020-10-02T15:25:32.997Z
小奥利奥
<p>For example:
我对父母很体贴（✓）
我很体贴我的父母（x）
我很关心我的父母（✓）
(The example is given by my teacher but i don't know the reason)
Hope you understand my question </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-30T20:12:16.240Z
You don't 體貼elders. You 關心 them. You 體胋 people who are about your age or younger. That's how I use 體貼.
joehua
<usage><verbs>
How do you know when will the verb be paired with 对?
# How do you know when will the verb be paired with 对?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-09-30)

For example:
我对父母很体贴（✓）
我很体贴我的父母（x）
我很关心我的父母（✓）
(The example is given by my teacher but i don't know the reason)
Hope you understand my question

**Tags:** usage, verbs
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You don't 體貼elders. You 關心 them. You 體胋 people who are about your age or younger. That's how I use 體貼.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-09-30. Score: 9 | Accepted answer

体贴 (to be considerate) is intransitive, it cannot take a direct object. So you can be "considerate towards your parents" but you cannot "considerate your parents". In a similar vein, you can be "happy for someone" but you cannot "happy someone".

关心 (to be concerned about), on the other hand, is transitive. It can take a direct object.

---

Whether 体贴 can be considered intransitive appears to be a matter of debate. I'll start by saying that **in Mandarin adjectives cannot take objects**. This is made explicitly clear on [the Chinese grammar wiki](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Adjective), hopefully I wont be forced to find additional sources to back this claim. It follows, then, that any instance of an adjectival verb is intransitive.

All that remains to be seen is whether 体贴 is an adjective or not. [It is](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BD%93%E8%B4%B4/9398039).

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/zMUit.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/zMUit.png)

A sentence in the form 我很体贴 where 我 is the subject and 很体贴 is the predicate/verb phrase cannot have a direct object. joehua has linked to several examples of the contrary, sentences where 体贴 has been shown to take a direct object. Why this is, I don't know. Either the term is being misused or it has taken on a different meaning in those sentences. Take for example [this page](https://zaojv.com/3289436.html) that joehua linked. It has the example sentence "他从小就知道体贴父母" which at face value invalidates everything I've just said. But if you type that exact sentence into [Baidu's translator](https://fanyi.baidu.com) it will output "He has been considerate of his parents since he was a child", taking that English sentence and plugging it back into the translator will give the output "他从小就对父母很体贴". Evidently one is more correct than the other.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/CFLwj.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/CFLwj.png)

[Yet even more proof](https://mandarinfriend.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/what-are-%E5%BD%A2%E5%AE%B9%E8%AF%8D-are-they-adjectives-or-adjectival-stative-verbs/)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/xshPn.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/xshPn.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 《初刻拍案驚奇》卷一三：「那趙聰也到會體貼他夫妻兩人的意思，常只是詐病佯疾，不進學堂。」《紅樓夢》第五一回：「你們固然不敢抱怨，未免想著我只顧疼這些小孫子孫女兒們，就不體貼你們這當家人了。」I believe in the two examples above, 體貼 is transitive  
> **username_2**: @joehua any more modern examples? one 9d those is several centuries old and the other decades old, I looked the term up in several online dictionaries and didn't see it being used with a direct object. Could be a matter of language changing with time, could be a matter of dialect, could be a matter of the word having multiple meanings...  
> **username_2**: @joehua https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E9%AB%94%E8%B2%BC  
> **username_1**: Did you check 漢典 and 國語詞典? I found the two examples I quoted in these two dictionaries.  
> **username_2**: yes, that's what I linked. And as 8 said, those are two excerpts from outdated books  
> **username_1**: https://zaojv.com/3289436.html  
> **username_1**: https://chinesepod.com/dictionary/english-chinese/%E4%BD%93%E8%B4%B4  
> **username_0**: Do we have to remember what verb is intransitive and what verb is transitive in chinese?  
> **username_2**: @sinwi I've been at work all day, when I get home in couple hours I'll edit my answer. Adjectives verbs in Mandarin are always intransitive  
> **username_1**: I find it extremely strange that you took a Chinese sentence, translated it into English, then, from English back to Chinese, and claimed the translated Chinese sentence is better than the original. I wonder who would buy that? Certainly not me. And you think體貼in 體貼父母is an adjective, not a verb? I have always thought it a verb.  
> **username_2**: @joehua What's weird about it, the fact that the translator agrees with me? 体贴 is an adjective. Adjectives in Chinese all have the additional function of being an adjectival verb (to be [something]). Adjectival verbs can never take an object, they are always intransitive. I've already said like 3 times, for it to take a direct object then it is either being used incorrectly or it has taken in a different meaning entirely. The fact that the translator uses 体贴 intransitively backs this.  
> **username_2**: I've provided a source declaring the word as an adjective, I've provided a source declaring that adjectives cannot take direct objects, and I've demonstrated that a Chinese-made translator would not use that word transitively, i am done talking about it.  
> **username_3**: https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=en&tl=zh-TW&text=He%20has%20been%20considerate%20of%20his%20parents%20since%20he%20was%20a%20child  
> **username_3**: 以上是Google翻譯出來的， 請問這個如何解釋  
> **username_0**: I just saw your edit, thank you so much for the detail  
> **username_1**: When it comes to translation, have we reached the stage where machines are better than, or at least as good as, human? I may be old fashion but I trust human more than machines.  
> **username_1**: If 體貼 is an adjective and intransitive, what is the function of 父母 in 體貼父母?  

---

