If 地 puts an adjective before a verb to say how you set out to do something, 得 puts an adjective after the verb to judge how it actually turned out. 说得很好 (shuō de hěn hǎo) is "speak-de-very-good" → "speaks very well." The verb happens, then 得 hangs an evaluation off the back of it: how well, how fast, to what degree, with what result. This is the degree/manner complement, and once you see the adjective doing the evaluating, the structure clicks.
What 得 links: verb → evaluation
The frame is [verb] + 得 + [complement]. The complement is very often a full adjective phrase, and it answers "how?" or "to what degree?" about the verb that just happened. Note that 得 is written with the "double person" radical 彳 — a different character from the noun-linker 的 and the adverbial 地, even though all three sound de.
你今天来得太早了。
nǐ jīntiān lái de tài zǎo le
You came too early today. — 来 (come) + 得 + 太早 (too early) evaluates the arriving.
他跑得比谁都快。
tā pǎo de bǐ shéi dōu kuài
He runs faster than anyone. — the complement 比谁都快 judges how he runs.
我妹妹钢琴弹得非常好。
wǒ mèimei gāngqín tán de fēicháng hǎo
My little sister plays the piano extremely well. — 弹得非常好 rates the playing.
The complement needs its own 很
A bare adjective in the complement slot — 说得好 — sounds unfinished or implicitly comparative ("speaks better [than someone]"). To make a plain positive statement, the adjective needs its usual propping word, almost always 很: 说得很好. This mirrors how adjectives normally need 很 as a predicate; inside the complement, the same rule applies.
他汉语说得很好。
tā Hànyǔ shuō de hěn hǎo
He speaks Chinese very well. — 很 props up 好 inside the complement.
你写得太快了，我看不清。
nǐ xiě de tài kuài le, wǒ kàn bu qīng
You write too fast — I can't make it out. — 太…了 is another degree marker filling the slot.
When there's an object: verb-copying
Here is the twist that trips everyone up. If the verb has an object and you want a 得 complement, you can't just stack them — 得 must sit directly against the verb. Chinese solves this by copying the verb: state it once with the object, then again with 得 and the complement. 他说汉语说得很好 — literally "he speaks Chinese, speaks de very good." The first 说汉语 delivers the object; the second 说得很好 carries the evaluation. (You can also front the object: 他汉语说得很好.)
他说汉语说得很好。
tā shuō Hànyǔ shuō de hěn hǎo
He speaks Chinese very well. — the verb 说 is repeated so 得 can attach.
他开车开得很稳。
tā kāichē kāi de hěn wěn
He drives very steadily. — 开车…开得很稳, verb-copying with the object 车.
得 for degree vs 得 for potential (a warning)
The very same 得 also builds the potential complement, meaning "can/able to": 看得懂 (kàn de dǒng, "can understand [by reading]"), 吃得完 (chī de wán, "can finish eating"). Same character, different job — and the negative is where they split cleanly. The degree complement negates inside the complement (跑得不快, "doesn't run fast"); the potential complement negates by swapping 得 for 不 (看不懂, "can't understand"). If a sentence means "can/can't do," it's potential; if it means "how well/badly it's done," it's degree.
这本书我看得懂，可是看得很慢。
zhè běn shū wǒ kàn de dǒng, kěshì kàn de hěn màn
I can understand this book, but I read it very slowly. — 看得懂 is potential ('can'); 看得很慢 is degree ('how').
| Degree complement | Potential complement | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | how well / how much | can / able to |
| Positive | 看得很慢 (reads slowly) | 看得懂 (can understand) |
| Negative | 看得不慢 (doesn't read slowly) | 看不懂 (can't understand) |
| Where 不 goes | inside the complement, after 得 | replaces 得 entirely |
Adjectives that spill into a whole result
When feeling runs high, 得 can introduce not just an adjective but an entire result clause — the classic "so ADJ that…" pattern. 高兴得跳起来 = "so happy (that she) jumped up." The adjective 高兴 is the cause; everything after 得 is the vivid consequence.
她高兴得跳了起来。
tā gāoxìng de tiào le qǐlai
She was so happy she jumped up. — 得 introduces the result of being 高兴.
这几天我忙得没时间吃饭。
zhè jǐ tiān wǒ máng de méi shíjiān chīfàn
These past few days I've been so busy I haven't had time to eat. — 忙得 + result clause.
孩子累得睡着了。
háizi lèi de shuìzháo le
The child was so tired he fell asleep. — 累得睡着了, adjective spilling into a result.
Common Mistakes
1. Writing 的 (or 地) instead of 得. After a verb, an evaluation takes 得 — not the noun-linker 的 or the pre-verb adverbial 地.
❌ 他跑的很快。
Incorrect — a complement after the verb takes 得, not 的.
✅ 他跑得很快。
tā pǎo de hěn kuài
He runs very fast. — 得 links the verb to its complement.
2. Dropping the 很 (or other degree word) in the complement. A bare adjective sounds incomplete or comparative.
❌ 她唱得好。
Marginal — sounds unfinished ('sings better than…?'); a plain statement needs 很.
✅ 她唱得很好。
tā chàng de hěn hǎo
She sings very well. — 很 completes the complement.
3. Forgetting to copy the verb when there's an object. You can't wedge 得 between verb and object.
❌ 他说汉语得很好。
Incorrect — 得 can't follow the object; repeat the verb: 说汉语说得很好.
✅ 他说汉语说得很好。
tā shuō Hànyǔ shuō de hěn hǎo
He speaks Chinese very well. — the copied verb lets 得 attach.
4. Negating a degree complement like a potential one. "Doesn't run fast" negates inside the complement, not by cutting 得.
❌ 他跑不很快。
Incorrect for 'doesn't run fast' — put 不 inside the complement: 跑得不快.
✅ 他跑得不快。
tā pǎo de bù kuài
He doesn't run fast. — 不 negates inside the 得 complement.
Key Takeaways
- [Verb] + 得 + [complement] hangs an evaluation off a verb: how well, how fast, to what result.
- The complement is often an adjective phrase that needs its own 很 (说得很好), just like a normal predicate.
- With an object, copy the verb: 他说汉语说得很好 (or front the object: 他汉语说得很好).
- Same 得 builds the potential complement ("can/can't"); degree negates inside (跑得不快), potential swaps 得 for 不 (看不懂).
- Don't confuse it with the other de's — see choosing 的 / 地 / 得.
Now practice Chinese
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- 得 for Degree & Manner ComplementsHSK 3 — 得 (de) is the structural particle that clips onto a verb or adjective and opens a complement evaluating the action — 跑得快 (runs fast), 说得很好 (speaks very well): it sits after the verb, before the description.
- Degree 得: So … That …HSK 4 — The degree 得 (de) complement pushes a state to an extreme and names the vivid consequence — 累得不想动 (so tired one won't move), 疼得睡不着 (in so much pain one can't sleep), 高兴得跳起来 (so happy one jumps up). This is Chinese's 'so … that …'.
- Choosing 的 / 得 / 地HSK 3 — The decision guide for the three de's. 的 goes before a noun (红的花), 得 after a verb before a complement (跑得快), 地 before a verb as a manner adverb (快乐地唱). One test settles it: look at what comes right after.
- 得 & 不 in Potential Complements (看得懂)HSK 3 — Slipping 得 between a verb and its result forms the potential 'can' — 看得懂 (can understand), 买得起 (can afford); the negative swaps 得 for 不 — 看不懂, 买不起. Same 得 character, but here it means capability built into the verb.