<p>Besides being a common adjective, 大 is also a common adverb. It is mostly used with single character verb or adjective (more literary than colloquial)</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>駡 (to scold) --&gt; 大駡 (to scold strongly) e.g. 大駡他是漢奸</p>
</li>
<li><p>好 (good) --&gt; 大好 (quite good; very good) e.g. 現在形勢大好</p>
</li>
<li><p>讚 (to praise) --&gt; 大讚 (to greatly praise) e.g. 大讚他品學兼優</p>
</li>
<li><p>勇 (strong) --&gt; 大勇 (very stong) e.g. 這匹馬狀態大勇</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>We can use 地 with 大 when 大 is reduplicated. For Example, 大大地提高 (greatly raise)， 大大地增加(greatly increase). But 地 is optional, meaning without it, the adverb still works, e.g. 大大提高，大大增加</p>
<p>We never use the adverb marker 地 with 大 alone. 大地提高 or 大地增加 is ungrammatical</p>
<p>大 in 大地 (the earth) is an adjective and 大地 itself is a compound word noun</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-06T10:42:53.610Z
Also, 大 大 小 小 is a ......... ?
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-06T11:46:22.987Z
@Wayne Cheah 大大小小的 (big and small) is an adjective.  e.g. 大大小小的獎項; 大大小小的工程. (大大的 + 小小的 = 大大小小的)
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-06T09:49:31.690Z
2021-08-06T09:57:34.927Z
2021-08-06T09:57:34.927Z
Tang Ho
<p>Very good answer from Tang Ho. I'd just like to add a few 4-character expressions that use 大 as adverb:</p>
<p>大吃一驚 to be greatly surprise/ shocked</p>
<p>大灑金錢 to spend a lot of money</p>
<p>大興土木 to build many things (literally, to move earth and wood)</p>
<p>Example sentence:</p>
<p>這個政府忽然大灑金錢，大興土木，建了很多無用的設施，令人大吃一驚。</p>
<p>Out of the blue, this government spent a lot of money to build many useless facilities. This really shocked a lot of people.</p>
<p>These are just a few expressions that came to mind. I am sure there are many more.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-06T19:06:13.847Z
政客們不但大放厥词，還大打出手，真是大失民心 The politicians not only freely speaking non-sense,  they also ferociously fist fought each other, which greatly disappointed the people.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-06T23:11:40.537Z
人民只好大嘆倒霉，希望下次大選的時候可以大換血，就大快人心了！ The common people will have to resign to their ill fate. Hopefully when election (大選) comes next time, there will be a complete change of people, then people will say, Good riddance! (大換血 = complete blood transfusion). We are having fun with this, aren't we?
monalisa
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-07T03:06:59.137Z
在大大小小的大选中，有大多数是大骗局。所以，不是大换血，而是换来更大的吸血大魔鬼. (In elections, big & small, most of them are fraudulent. So, it is not a complete blood transfusion, but a transfusion of an even bigger blood-sucking monster)
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-06T15:48:26.080Z
2021-08-06T15:48:26.080Z
monalisa
<p>Wenlin dictionary doesn't consider 大 as an adverb, whereas Online dictionary <a href="https://chine-nouvelle.com/outils/dictionnaire.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chine Nouvelle</a> considers it also as an adverb.</p>
<p>So is 大 commonly used in modern Chinese as an adverb? Or would it not be grammatically correct to translate 大 as &quot;greatly&quot;?</p>
<p>What about the use of the structural particle 地 (de) after the adjective to make it function as an adverb concerning 大?</p>

<grammar><vocabulary><adverbs>
Common use of character 大 as adverb
# Common use of character 大 as adverb

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-08-06)

Wenlin dictionary doesn't consider 大 as an adverb, whereas Online dictionary [Chine Nouvelle](https://chine-nouvelle.com/outils/dictionnaire.html) considers it also as an adverb.

So is 大 commonly used in modern Chinese as an adverb? Or would it not be grammatically correct to translate 大 as "greatly"?

What about the use of the structural particle 地 (de) after the adjective to make it function as an adverb concerning 大?

**Tags:** grammar, vocabulary, adverbs

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-08-06. Score: 4

Besides being a common adjective, 大 is also a common adverb. It is mostly used with single character verb or adjective (more literary than colloquial)

Example:

* 駡 (to scold) --> 大駡 (to scold strongly) e.g. 大駡他是漢奸
* 好 (good) --> 大好 (quite good; very good) e.g. 現在形勢大好
* 讚 (to praise) --> 大讚 (to greatly praise) e.g. 大讚他品學兼優
* 勇 (strong) --> 大勇 (very stong) e.g. 這匹馬狀態大勇

We can use 地 with 大 when 大 is reduplicated. For Example, 大大地提高 (greatly raise)， 大大地增加(greatly increase). But 地 is optional, meaning without it, the adverb still works, e.g. 大大提高，大大增加

We never use the adverb marker 地 with 大 alone. 大地提高 or 大地增加 is ungrammatical

大 in 大地 (the earth) is an adjective and 大地 itself is a compound word noun

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Also, 大 大 小 小 is a ......... ?  
> **username_1**: @Wayne Cheah 大大小小的 (big and small) is an adjective.  e.g. 大大小小的獎項; 大大小小的工程. (大大的 + 小小的 = 大大小小的)  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2021-08-06. Score: 3

Very good answer from Tang Ho. I'd just like to add a few 4-character expressions that use 大 as adverb:

大吃一驚 to be greatly surprise/ shocked

大灑金錢 to spend a lot of money

大興土木 to build many things (literally, to move earth and wood)

Example sentence:

這個政府忽然大灑金錢，大興土木，建了很多無用的設施，令人大吃一驚。

Out of the blue, this government spent a lot of money to build many useless facilities. This really shocked a lot of people.

These are just a few expressions that came to mind. I am sure there are many more.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 政客們不但大放厥词，還大打出手，真是大失民心 The politicians not only freely speaking non-sense,  they also ferociously fist fought each other, which greatly disappointed the people.  
> **username_3**: 人民只好大嘆倒霉，希望下次大選的時候可以大換血，就大快人心了！ The common people will have to resign to their ill fate. Hopefully when election (大選) comes next time, there will be a complete change of people, then people will say, Good riddance! (大換血 = complete blood transfusion). We are having fun with this, aren't we?  
> **username_2**: 在大大小小的大选中，有大多数是大骗局。所以，不是大换血，而是换来更大的吸血大魔鬼. (In elections, big & small, most of them are fraudulent. So, it is not a complete blood transfusion, but a transfusion of an even bigger blood-sucking monster)  

---

