A complement (补语, bǔyǔ) is an element that comes after the verb to complete its meaning — to say what result the action reached, which direction it went, how well it was done, or whether it is even possible. This is one of the most important structural ideas in Chinese, and one with no single English counterpart: where English packs these meanings into a separate verb ("find"), an adverb ("clearly"), or a modal ("can"), Mandarin bolts a complement onto the back of the verb. This page frames the whole Complements group — the families you'll meet, the shared architecture, and the mental shift English speakers have to make.
The verb-plus-complement architecture
The core insight is that a Mandarin verb is often incomplete on its own. 找 (zhǎo) means "look for," not "find." 听 (tīng) means "listen," not "understand." The bare verb names the activity; a complement names what the activity accomplished. Add 到 (dào) to 找 and you get 找到 "find" — the search succeeded. Add 懂 (dǒng) to 听 and you get 听懂 "understand by listening."
我找了半天，还是没找到。
wǒ zhǎo le bàntiān, háishì méi zhǎo dào
I searched forever and still didn't find it. (informal) — 找 is the activity, 找到 is the success.
老师说的话我都听懂了。
lǎoshī shuō de huà wǒ dōu tīng dǒng le
I understood everything the teacher said. (neutral) — 懂 completes 听 with the result.
The verb and its complement form one tight unit. Aspect 了 and the object attach after the whole cluster, not in the middle of it: 我吃完了饭 (I finished the meal), never *我吃了完饭.
我吃完饭就去找你。
wǒ chī wán fàn jiù qù zhǎo nǐ
I'll come find you as soon as I finish eating. (informal) — 吃完 stays welded together, 饭 follows.
The families of complements
This group covers four main families, plus duration and frequency complements. Each answers a different question about the verb.
| Family | Answers | Example | English handles it with… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resultative 结果 | What result? | 吃完 (finish eating) | a separate verb / a particle ("eat up") |
| Directional 趋向 | Which way? | 进来 (come in) | a preposition/adverb ("in") |
| Potential 可能 | Possible or not? | 看得懂 (can understand) | "can / can't" |
| Degree / Manner 程度 | How well / to what degree? | 说得很好 (speak very well) | an adverb ("well") |
| Duration / Frequency | How long / how many times? | 看了三个小时 (watched for three hours) | "for / times" |
Here is one of each in a natural sentence:
外面冷，快进来坐吧。
wàimiàn lěng, kuài jìnlái zuò ba
It's cold outside, come in and sit down. (informal) — 进来 is a directional complement.
这本小说不难，我看得懂。
zhè běn xiǎoshuō bù nán, wǒ kàn de dǒng
This novel isn't hard, I can understand it. (neutral) — 看得懂 is a potential complement.
她中文说得很好，一点儿口音都没有。
tā Zhōngwén shuō de hěn hǎo, yìdiǎnr kǒuyīn dōu méiyǒu
She speaks Chinese very well, without a trace of an accent. (neutral) — 说得很好 is a degree complement.
昨晚我们看了三个小时电视。
zuówǎn wǒmen kàn le sān ge xiǎoshí diànshì
Last night we watched TV for three hours. (informal) — 三个小时 is a duration complement.
Why 得 does two very different jobs
One thing that trips learners up early: the particle 得 (de) appears in both potential and degree complements, but they mean opposite kinds of things. This group untangles the pair repeatedly, so meet it now.
- Potential 看得懂 (kàn de dǒng) = "can understand" — about ability/possibility.
- Degree 说得很好 (shuō de hěn hǎo) = "speak very well" — about how the action was performed.
The clue is what follows 得: a single result verb (懂, 到, 完) leans potential; a describing phrase (很好, 很快, 很清楚) is degree. And the two negate differently — potential swaps 得 for 不 (看不懂 "can't understand"), while degree keeps 得 and negates the description (说得不好 "doesn't speak well").
字太小了，我看不清楚。
zì tài xiǎo le, wǒ kàn bu qīngchu
The text is too small, I can't see it clearly. (informal) — potential negative 看不清楚.
Common Mistakes
1. Leaving the verb bare when a result is meant. 我吃 only means "I eat/am eating," not "I've eaten it up." A bounded event needs a complement or 了.
❌ 我做作业。
Incomplete for 'I got my homework done' — 做作业 is just the activity 'do homework'; a completed outcome needs a complement (做完) or 了.
✅ 我把作业做完了。
wǒ bǎ zuòyè zuò wán le
I finished my homework. (neutral) — 做完 supplies the result.
2. Splitting the verb and its complement with the object. The complement clings to the verb; the object comes after the pair.
❌ 我吃饭完了。
Incorrect — the object 饭 can't sit between 吃 and 完.
✅ 我吃完饭了。
wǒ chī wán fàn le
I finished eating. (informal) — 吃完 first, then 饭.
3. Using an adverb before the verb where Chinese wants a degree complement. "She speaks well" is not 她好说; the "well" describes the speaking and follows it via 得.
❌ 她很好说中文。
Incorrect — 很好 can't sit in front of the verb here.
✅ 她中文说得很好。
tā Zhōngwén shuō de hěn hǎo
She speaks Chinese very well. (neutral) — degree complement with 得.
4. Reaching for 能/可以 instead of a potential complement. Everyday "can you see/hear/understand it?" is usually a 得/不 potential, not a modal verb.
❌ 这么小的字你能看清楚吗？
Understandable but unidiomatic — native speakers use the potential complement here.
✅ 这么小的字你看得清楚吗？
zhème xiǎo de zì nǐ kàn de qīngchu ma?
Can you see such tiny text clearly? (informal) — 看得清楚 is the natural phrasing.
Key Takeaways
- A complement 补语 follows the verb to state its result, direction, degree, or possibility.
- Mandarin verbs are often incomplete alone: 找 = "look for," 找到 = "find"; add the complement to reach the outcome.
- Five families: resultative (结果补语), directional, potential, degree/manner, and duration/frequency.
- The verb + complement is one unit — 了 and the object attach after it, not inside it.
- 得 does two jobs: potential (看得懂 "can understand") and degree (说得好 "speaks well"); tell them apart by what follows.
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
- Resultative Complements 结果补语HSK 2 — A resultative complement 结果补语 welds a second verb or adjective onto the main verb to name the result it achieves — 吃完 (eat up), 听懂 (understand), 看见 (see), 洗干净 (wash clean) — negated with 没, never 不.
- Resultative 完: Finishing an ActionHSK 2 — 完 (wán) is the resultative that says an action reached its endpoint or a quantity was used up — 吃完 (finish eating), 做完 (finish doing), 用完 (use up); distinct from 了, negated with 没.
- Resultative 好: Done and ReadyHSK 2 — 好 (hǎo) is the resultative that says an action was completed satisfactorily and something is ready for use — 做好 (get done/ready), 准备好 (be ready), 写好 (finish writing), 关好 (shut properly); the 'done-well' nuance 完 lacks.
- The Perfective 了 (le₁): Completed ActionHSK 1 — The verb-suffix 了 (le₁) sits right after the verb and marks the action as completed or realized — 我吃了饭, 买了三本书. It is completion aspect, not past tense, so it can even point to the future: 下了课就走.
- 看 vs 看见 (Watch vs See)HSK 2 — 看 (kàn) is the effort — look, watch, read — and it may not succeed; 看见 / 看到 (kànjiàn / kàndào) is the outcome, 'see, catch sight of'. 我看了半天，也没看见 packs both into one breath, and the potential forms 看得见 / 看不见 say whether seeing is even possible.