English says "so tired that I can't move," "so happy that she jumped up" — a state, then the consequence it drives you to. Chinese does exactly this with the degree 得 complement: an adjective or verb, then 得, then the vivid result that the degree produces. 累得不想动 ("so tired one won't move"), 疼得睡不着 ("in such pain one can't sleep"), 高兴得跳起来 ("so happy one jumps up"). It shares the frame of its manner cousin, but the job is different: what follows 得 here is not an evaluation of how — it's the consequence of how much. This is the most colourful, most spoken-Chinese-flavoured pattern in the whole 得 family.
State + 得 + consequence: "so … that …"
Start with an adjective or a verb that names a feeling or state, say 得, then paint what that intensity leads to. The consequence is usually a whole little predicate — a verb phrase or a potential complement — not a bare adjective.
我今天累得不想动。
wǒ jīntiān lèi de bù xiǎng dòng
I'm so tired today I don't even want to move. (informal) — 累得 + the consequence 不想动.
他高兴得跳了起来。
tā gāoxìng de tiào le qǐlái
He was so happy he jumped up. (informal) — 高兴得 + 跳了起来.
牙疼得睡不着，我一整晚都没合眼。
yá téng de shuì bu zháo, wǒ yì zhěng wǎn dōu méi héyǎn
My tooth hurt so much I couldn't sleep — I didn't shut my eyes all night. (informal) — 疼得 + the potential 睡不着.
The consequence can be a whole clause — with its own subject
This is where the degree pattern flexes beyond the manner one. The material after 得 can be a full clause carrying its own subject — the state is so extreme it spills over onto someone or something. 冷得我发抖 ("so cold that I shiver"): the cold is the cause, I am the one shivering. English needs "so cold that I…"; Chinese just hangs the clause off 得.
外面冷得我直发抖。
wàimiàn lěng de wǒ zhí fādǒu
It's so cold outside I keep shivering. (informal) — the 得-clause has its own subject 我.
今天热得我满头大汗。
jīntiān rè de wǒ mǎntóu dàhàn
It's so hot today I'm dripping with sweat. (informal) — 热得 + the clause 我满头大汗.
这个笑话把他逗得笑个不停。
zhège xiàohua bǎ tā dòu de xiào ge bù tíng
This joke cracked him up so much he couldn't stop laughing. (informal) — 得 introduces the resulting laughter.
Fixed intensifier tails: 得很, 得不得了, 得要死, 得慌
A special, super-common branch of this pattern uses 得 plus a frozen "extremely" tail instead of a real consequence. These are pure intensifiers — the fastest, most colloquial way to say "really, really X."
| Tail | Example | Force |
|---|---|---|
| 得很 (de hěn) | 热得很 (rè de hěn) | very hot (neutral, everyday) |
| 得不得了 (de bùdéliǎo) | 好吃得不得了 (hǎochī de bùdéliǎo) | incredibly tasty (informal) |
| 得要死 (de yào sǐ) | 累得要死 (lèi de yào sǐ) | dead tired (informal, emphatic) |
| 得慌 (de huang) | 饿得慌 (è de huang) | uncomfortably hungry (informal, regional flavour) |
别出去了，外面热得很。
bié chūqù le, wàimiàn rè de hěn
Don't go out, it's really hot outside. (informal) — 得很 is a bleached 'extremely' tail.
这家店的烤鸭好吃得不得了。
zhè jiā diàn de kǎoyā hǎochī de bùdéliǎo
The roast duck at this place is unbelievably good. (informal) — 得不得了 = 'to an extraordinary degree'.
忙了一整天，我累得要死。
mángle yì zhěng tiān, wǒ lèi de yào sǐ
After a whole day of work, I'm dead tired. (informal) — 得要死, a very emphatic 'extremely'.
Manner vs degree: telling the two 得 readings apart
Because manner and degree share the frame, learners mix them up. The tell is what 得 introduces. In the manner reading, the after-得 phrase evaluates the action — 跳得很高 ("jumps high," how he jumps). In the degree reading, it names a consequence of intensity — 高兴得跳起来 ("so happy he jumps," the jumping is caused by the happiness). Same verb 跳, two completely different sentences.
他跳得很高。
tā tiào de hěn gāo
He jumps very high. (neutral) — MANNER: 得 grades how he jumps.
他高兴得跳起来了。
tā gāoxìng de tiào qǐlái le
He was so happy he jumped up. (informal) — DEGREE: 得 names what the happiness led to.
The quick test: if you can insert "so … that …" in English, you're in the degree reading; if you'd say "how well/badly/high/fast," you're in the manner reading.
Common Mistakes
1. Dropping 得 and just juxtaposing the state and the result. English "so happy, jumped up" tempts you to omit the link, but Chinese needs 得.
❌ 他高兴跳起来了。
Wrong — the state and its consequence must be joined by 得.
✅ 他高兴得跳起来了。
tā gāoxìng de tiào qǐlái le
He was so happy he jumped up. — 得 links 高兴 to 跳起来.
2. Using 地 instead of 得. The consequence follows the state, so it's 得 (after), never the adverbial 地 (before).
❌ 我累地不想动。
Wrong particle — a consequence-of-degree needs 得, not 地.
✅ 我累得不想动。
wǒ lèi de bù xiǎng dòng
I'm so tired I don't want to move. — 得 introduces the consequence.
3. Stacking a front 很 on top of the 得很 tail. The 得很 tail already means "extremely"; a leading 很 is redundant.
❌ 天气很热得很。
Wrong — 得很 already intensifies; drop the front 很.
✅ 天气热得很。
tiānqì rè de hěn
The weather is really hot. — one intensifier is enough.
4. Reaching for a bare intensifier tail when you actually mean a consequence. 疼得很 only says "very painful"; to say "so painful that he cried out," you need the full consequence clause.
❌ 他疼得很，叫起来。
Disconnected — 疼得很 just means 'very painful'; it doesn't deliver the 'so … that …' consequence.
✅ 他疼得叫了起来。
tā téng de jiào le qǐlái
It hurt so much he cried out. — the consequence 叫了起来 rides directly on 得.
Key Takeaways
- Degree 得 = State/Verb + 得
- the vivid consequence of that intensity: 累得不想动, 疼得睡不着, 高兴得跳起来.
- The consequence can be a full clause with its own subject: 冷得我发抖 ("so cold that I shiver").
- Learn the frozen "extremely" tails: 得很 (rè de hěn), 得不得了, 得要死, 得慌.
- Manner vs degree share the frame: manner evaluates the action (跳得很高), degree names its consequence (高兴得跳起来).
- The link is always 得 — not 地, and never omitted.
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- Manner 得: How Well an Action Is DoneHSK 2 — The manner 得 (de) complement evaluates how well or badly an action is performed — 写得好 (writes well), 跑得很快 (runs fast), 说得不好 (speaks badly). With an object you must copy the verb (说中文说得好) or topicalize it (中文说得好).
- State Resultatives 饱/醉/死: How the Doer Ends UpHSK 4 — When the resultative is an adjective, it names a resulting state — often on the doer: 吃饱 (eat one's fill), 喝醉 (get drunk), 累死 (dead tired), 气死 (furious); plus 洗干净 (wash clean), 弄坏 (break). Negated with 没, not built with 得.
- Degree Adverbs (非常 / 特别 / 挺 / 比较 / 真)HSK 2 — The everyday degree adverbs that scale an adjective — 非常 'extremely', 特别 'especially', 真 'really', 挺…的 'quite', 比较 'fairly', 十分 'very' (formal), and postposed 极了 — each with its own strength and register.
- The 得 Complement: Degree & MannerHSK 2 — The structural particle 得 (de) after a verb or adjective introduces a phrase describing how well or to what degree — 跑得快 (runs fast), 说得很好 (speaks well), 高兴得跳起来 (so happy one jumps up). Watch: this 得 is different from the potential 得 (看得懂).