Level 1 · Beginner
So …: 这么 / 那么
这么 / 那么 + Adj. · Traditional: 這麼 / 那麼 + Adj.
这么 and 那么 go in front of an adjective to mean "so / this / that": 这么大 "this big", 那么远 "that far". Use 这么 for what's right here — what you can see or feel now — and 那么 for things farther away or something someone else said.
They take the place of 很, so never stack the two: 这么好, not 这么很好. You'll often hear 这么 in surprised questions with 怎么: 今天怎么这么冷？ "how come it's so cold today?"
Examples
你的猫这么大！
你的貓這麼大！
nǐ de māo zhè me dà
Your cat is so big!
今天怎么这么冷？
今天怎麼這麼冷？
jīn tiān zěn me zhè me lěng
How come it's so cold today?
北京没有那么远。
北京沒有那麼遠。
běi jīng méi yǒu nà me yuǎn
Beijing isn't that far.
我不想吃那么多。
我不想吃那麼多。
wǒ bù xiǎng chī nà me duō
I don't want to eat that much.
Common mistakes
✗ 他这么很高。
✓ 他这么高。
这么 replaces 很 — don't use both.
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like The Doctor, John's Old Phone, A Fifty-Yuan Dog inside the Literate Chinese app.
