Example sentences
zhè这shì是wǒ我de的。
This is mine.
hóng红sè色de的shì是nǐ你de的ma吗？
Is the red one yours?
The story behind the character
的
的 glues a description onto a noun. 我的书 my book, 中国的茶 Chinese tea, 很贵的衣服 expensive clothes. The order flips versus English: owner or description first, then 的, then the noun. It also turns a phrase into a noun. 吃的 means "something to eat," and 我要那个红的 means "I want the red one." With close relationships people drop it, so 我朋友 is more natural than 我的朋友.