Unexpectedly, this Chinese character (which means narrow), also has a few of exactly the same connotations as in English. “Zhai,” stated using the falling and increasing third tone, is pronounced “j” + “eye.”
Some other meanings for “zhai” include
- narrow-minded
- petty
- not well off
Like a lot of the other adjectives, it is not required to incorporate “is” when employing “zhai” as a predicate adjective as in
- This road is narrow.
- The alley is too narrow.
Rather, simply use the adjective following the noun
- This road narrow.
- Alley as well narrow.
That is, naturally, unless you are highlighting the reality, then you definitely can use the “shì….de” grammatical option (with “zhai” in among).
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Roseann Young 