I'm often don't which noun to use, but I can think of a verb to describe it.
I know that 吃的 (to eat + 的) means food, so I was wondering if I can use it with other verbs as well, like 洗澡的 (to bathe + 的）can mean bath?
1 Answer
I think most of these verb+的 noun are all following a law that the verb must be a transitive verb.
吃的 喝的
means something can be eaten or drunk
However for intransitive verbs, they are not able to construct verb+的 nouns, for the reason that there are no passive structures.
洗澡的 is a really strange usage. Though it can be used as a transitive verb, the passive structures for bathe is not common to used in daily life.
Besides, verb+的 is a very informal usage that they are mostly only used in oral Chinese. For more formal ways, there are some other words that can be used, like 食物 饮品 for food and drinks.
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Also in spoken language, derogatory usage: 开车的 or 姓赵的！ I don't know if this qualifies to the OP's question, I thought it's worth noting.– imrekNov 27, 2014 at 3:13
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Naturally in the proper context 洗澡的 standing by itself is OK， e。g。if the is talk is in the context of 洗澡的、睡觉的、脱衣服的 or 穿上衣服的人 then 洗澡的 by itself seems OK。– user6065Nov 27, 2014 at 3:35
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开车的 or 姓赵的 is like ~er in English, which means the person who are driving a car or whose last name is 赵. I don't think it's same as this question. Nov 27, 2014 at 4:01
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@S.Rhee I can hardly find a situation where you say 洗澡的 to mean "one who takes a bath". Nov 27, 2014 at 7:46
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1@biubiubiu OK, now I see the difference. The OP is looking for terms in the sense of "... stuff". 吃的 "eat(able) stuff", etc.– imrekNov 27, 2014 at 11:10
~的is like~erin English which turns a verb into a noun, but just like in English, if the made-up word does not exist or already has a different meaning, it won't help understanding.