How to Say “Simply / Downright” with 简直 (jiǎnzhí)
简直 (jiǎnzhí) is the emphatic “simply / completely / downright,” piling on the speaker's amazement (“it's SO much it's practically…”). Use 1 puts it before an already-extreme predicate: 这里简直太美了 (“this place is simply gorgeous”). Use 2 adds 是 for “basically / practically”: 他简直是骗人 (“he's basically lying”). It never takes a bare adjective or 很.
Why this trips learners up
简直 (jiǎnzhí) is the emphatic adverb for “simply / completely / downright / just,” and its whole job is to pile on the speaker's amazement or exaggeration: it says something is so far along the scale it's practically off it. 你男朋友简直太帅了！(“your boyfriend is simply gorgeous!”), 这里简直是天堂 (“this place is simply heaven”). It modifies adjectives and verbs alike, always adding that “I can hardly believe it” colour.
Use 1: “simply / completely.” The frame is Subject + 简直 + [predicate], but here is the rule almost every learner trips on: 简直 cannot be followed by a bare adjective, and never by 很. English lets you say “simply beautiful,” but 她简直漂亮 is wrong, and so is 她简直很漂亮. 简直 amplifies something that is already at the top of the scale, so it must lean on an extreme predicate: 太…了, …极了, …死了, 是…, 像…, 比…还…. So it's 她简直太漂亮了 or 她简直漂亮极了. It also pairs with a negated cognitive verb for disbelief: 我简直不敢相信 (“I simply can't believe it”), 我简直不明白 (“I just don't understand”).
Use 2: “basically / practically.” When 简直 is followed immediately by 是, it shifts toward “basically / virtually / as good as”: Subject + 简直 + 是 + Predicate. 这价格简直是抢钱 (“this price is basically robbery”), 你简直是多管闲事 (“you're basically being nosy”). Very often it appears as 简直(就)是在 + Verb, calling out what someone is really doing: 他们简直就是在抄我们的创意 (“they're basically just copying our ideas”), 你这么说简直就是在骗自己 (“saying that, you're basically fooling yourself”). The 是 turns the hyperbole into an equation, “this amounts to…”.
So both uses come from one place: 简直 pushes things to an extreme, hyperbolic degree, either straight onto an over-the-top predicate or, with 是, onto a “this is practically…” equation. The word to hold it apart from, laid out in the comparison below, is 真 (zhēn, “really”). 真 is a plain, sincere intensifier that sits directly before a bare adjective (真漂亮, 真好吃); 简直 is the exaggeration that refuses a bare adjective and demands an extreme one. When you genuinely mean “really,” use 真; when you're overstating for effect, reach for 简直.
The structure
Colour key
Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.
Examples in context
Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.
Tap a word to see its grammatical role.
zhège xiāoxī 这个消息 Subject jiǎnzhí 简直 Pattern tài 太 Adverb hǎo 好 Adjective le 了 Function word
This news is simply wonderful! (简直 + 太…了).
jīntiān 今天 Time rè 热 Adjective de 得 Function word jiǎnzhí 简直 Pattern shòubuliǎo 受不了 Complement
It's so hot today I simply can't stand it (…得 + 简直 + 受不了).
wǒ 我 Subject jiǎnzhí 简直 Pattern bù 不 Negation gǎn 敢 Function word xiāngxìn 相信 Verb zhè shì zhēn de 这是真的 Object
I simply can't believe this is real (简直 + 不敢 + verb).
zhè jiàgé 这价格 Subject jiǎnzhí 简直 Pattern shì 是 Verb qiǎng qián 抢钱 Object
This price is basically robbery (简直是 + noun/verb).
tā de fángjiān 他的房间 Subject luàn 乱 Adjective de 得 Function word jiǎnzhí 简直 Pattern méi fǎ zhù rén 没法住人 Complement
His room is such a mess it's simply unlivable (简直 + 没法…).
zhè dào cài 这道菜 Subject jiǎnzhí 简直 Pattern nánchī 难吃 Adjective jíle 极了 Complement
This dish is simply awful (简直 + …极了).
nǐ zhème shuō 你这么说 Other jiǎnzhí 简直 Pattern jiù 就 Adverb shì 是 Verb zài 在 Function word piàn zìjǐ 骗自己 Verb
Saying that, you're basically just fooling yourself (简直就是在 + verb).
ràng yí gè xīnshǒu zuò zhème nán de gōngzuò 让一个新手做这么难的工作， Other jiǎnzhí 简直 Pattern shì 是 Verb zài 在 Function word wéinán tā 为难他 Verb
Making a beginner do work this hard is basically setting him up to fail (简直是在 + verb).
Common mistakes
Why it happens: 简直 can't be followed by a bare adjective, unlike English “simply beautiful.” 她简直漂亮 is wrong; you need an already-extreme predicate: 她简直太漂亮了 (“simply too pretty”) or 她简直漂亮极了. 简直 amplifies something that's already at the top of the scale.
Why it happens: 很 is not used after 简直. 她简直很漂亮 is wrong, because 很 is a mild, neutral “very” and 简直 demands an extreme. Reach for 太…了, …极了, …死了 or 是… instead: 她简直漂亮极了.
Why it happens: For a plain, sincere “really nice,” use 真, which sits straight before a bare adjective (今天天气真好). 简直 is for hyperbole and needs an over-the-top predicate: 今天天气简直好 is wrong, but 今天天气简直太好了 (exaggerated delight) works.
Compare & contrast
| 简直 jiǎnzhí (simply / downright: hyperbolic amazement, needs an extreme predicate) | 真 zhēn (really / genuinely: a plain intensifier, takes a bare adjective) | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| 这蛋糕简直太好吃了zhè dàngāo jiǎnzhí tài hǎochī le = “this cake is simply too delicious” (简直: over-the-top, must have 太…了 / 极了, never bare) | 这蛋糕真好吃zhè dàngāo zhēn hǎochī = “this cake is really delicious” (真: a plain “really,” sits straight before the adjective) | 这蛋糕简直太好吃了 means “this cake is simply too delicious,” 简直 piling on hyperbole and leaning on 太…了 (never a bare adjective). 这蛋糕真好吃 means “this cake is really delicious,” 真 sitting straight before the adjective as a plain, sincere “really.” 简直 exaggerates; 真 states. |
| 他简直是个天才tā jiǎnzhí shì ge tiāncái = “he’s practically a genius” (简直是: hyperbole, “as good as a genius”) | 他真聪明tā zhēn cōngmíng = “he’s really clever” (真: a genuine, measured compliment, no exaggeration) | 他简直是个天才 means “he's practically a genius,” 简直是 giving “as good as a genius,” an exaggeration. 他真聪明 means “he's really clever,” 真 a measured, genuine compliment with no “practically” about it. Use 简直 to overstate for effect; 真 to say you mean it. |
Try it yourself
Say “This place is simply gorgeous.” Use 简直 + 太 + adjective + 了.
Related patterns
Quick reference card
How to Say “Simply / Downright” with 简直 (jiǎnzhí) grammar.merrymandarin.com A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.