A resultative complement (结果补语, jiéguǒ bǔyǔ) attaches a second verb or adjective directly behind the main verb to name the result that the action achieves. 看 (kàn, "look") plus 见 (jiàn, "perceive") makes 看见 (kàn jiàn, "see"); 吃 (chī, "eat") plus 完 (wán, "finish") makes 吃完 (chī wán, "eat up"). The main verb supplies the action; the complement supplies its outcome. This is one of the most productive patterns in Chinese — once you know the building blocks, you can assemble the combinations yourself rather than memorizing each as a new word. This page is the group's foundation; the following pages drill the most common result morphemes one by one.
How a resultative is built
The formula is simply verb + result morpheme, fused into one unit. The result can be another verb (懂 understand, 见 perceive, 到 reach, 会 master) or an adjective (完 finished, 好 ready, 干净 clean, 饱 full).
| Verb |
| = Resultative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 看 (kàn) look | 见 (jiàn) perceive | 看见 (kàn jiàn) | see |
| 听 (tīng) listen | 懂 (dǒng) understand | 听懂 (tīng dǒng) | understand (by ear) |
| 吃 (chī) eat | 完 (wán) finish | 吃完 (chī wán) | eat up / finish eating |
| 洗 (xǐ) wash | 干净 (gānjìng) clean | 洗干净 (xǐ gānjìng) | wash clean |
| 找 (zhǎo) look for | 到 (dào) reach | 找到 (zhǎo dào) | find |
| 学 (xué) study | 会 (huì) master | 学会 (xué huì) | learn (successfully) |
我一进门就看见他坐在沙发上。
wǒ yí jìn mén jiù kàn jiàn tā zuò zài shāfā shang
The moment I walked in I saw him sitting on the sofa. (neutral) — 看见 = look + perceive.
这道题我终于听懂了。
zhè dào tí wǒ zhōngyú tīng dǒng le
I finally understood this problem (as it was explained). (informal) — 听懂 = listen + understand.
她花了三个月才学会开车。
tā huā le sān ge yuè cái xué huì kāi chē
It took her three months to learn to drive. (neutral) — 学会 = study to mastery.
For the specific difference between plain 看 and 看见 — an activity versus a completed perception — see 看 vs 看见.
What makes the pattern learnable is that most result morphemes are ordinary words you already know standing on their own: 完 is "finish," 干净 is "clean," 到 is "arrive/reach," 会 is "be able." Welded behind a verb they keep that meaning, so 洗干净 transparently reads "wash-clean" and 学会 reads "study-able." Be honest with yourself about one limit, though: not every verb pairs with every result. Chinese speakers say 听懂 (understand by ear) and 看懂 (understand by reading), because 懂 pairs with perception verbs — but not 吃懂; and 找到 (find) is idiomatic while 找完 is not. The licensed combinations are semantic collocations you build up with exposure, not a free lego set. The good news is that a few dozen high-frequency results — 完, 好, 到, 见, 懂, 会, 住, 掉, 干净 — cover the vast majority of what you'll say.
了 and objects attach after the whole unit
Because the verb + result is a single block, aspect 了 and any object come after it. You can place a definite object between the complement and 了, or after 了 — both patterns exist — but you can never wedge the object inside the verb-result pair.
孩子们把蛋糕吃完了。
háizimen bǎ dàngāo chī wán le
The kids finished the cake. (informal) — 吃完 as a block, 了 after it.
我看完这本书就还给你。
wǒ kàn wán zhè běn shū jiù huán gěi nǐ
I'll give this book back to you as soon as I finish reading it. (neutral) — object 这本书 follows 看完.
Negation: 没, never 不
Because a resultative reports whether an outcome was reached, you negate it with 没 (méi) — "the result did not happen." Using 不 here is one of the most common errors English speakers make, because 不 feels like the default "not."
对不起，你说得太快，我没听懂。
duìbuqǐ, nǐ shuō de tài kuài, wǒ méi tīng dǒng
Sorry, you spoke too fast, I didn't understand. (informal) — 没听懂, the result wasn't reached.
这本书我还没看完呢。
zhè běn shū wǒ hái méi kàn wán ne
I still haven't finished this book. (informal) — 还没…完 for 'not yet'.
There is a separate 不 pattern, but it means something different: the potential form 看不懂 (kàn bu dǒng) means "can't understand," about ability, not about whether it happened. Keep them apart: 没听懂 = "didn't understand (this time)"; 听不懂 = "can't understand (in principle)."
他说的方言我完全听不懂。
tā shuō de fāngyán wǒ wánquán tīng bu dǒng
I can't understand his dialect at all. (informal) — potential 听不懂 = inability, not simple negation.
Common Mistakes
1. Negating a resultative with 不. To say the result did not occur, use 没.
❌ 我不听懂老师的话。
Incorrect — 不 can't negate an achieved result; this isn't a well-formed statement.
✅ 我没听懂老师的话。
wǒ méi tīng dǒng lǎoshī de huà
I didn't understand what the teacher said. (neutral) — 没 negates the result.
2. Leaving the verb bare when the outcome is meant. 我听 says "I listen," not "I understood."
❌ 你说的我听了。
Odd — this says 'I listened to it', not 'I got it'; the outcome is missing.
✅ 你说的我听懂了。
nǐ shuō de wǒ tīng dǒng le
I understood what you said. (informal) — 懂 supplies the result.
3. Wedging 了 between the verb and the result. 了 goes after the whole pair.
❌ 我吃了完饭。
Incorrect — 了 can't split 吃 and 完.
✅ 我吃完了饭。
wǒ chī wán le fàn
I finished the meal. (informal) — 吃完 first, then 了.
4. Keeping 了 in the negative. Under 没, drop the 了.
❌ 我还没做完了作业。
Incorrect — 没 and 了 clash; the 了 must go.
✅ 我还没做完作业。
wǒ hái méi zuò wán zuòyè
I haven't finished my homework yet. (neutral) — no 了 after 没.
Key Takeaways
- A resultative complement is verb + result morpheme fused into one unit: 看见, 听懂, 吃完, 洗干净, 找到, 学会.
- The main verb names the activity; the complement names the outcome achieved.
- 了 and objects attach after the whole verb-result block, never inside it.
- Negate with 没 (没听懂 "didn't understand"), never 不.
- Don't confuse 没听懂 (didn't understand this time) with the potential 听不懂 (can't understand at all).
Related Topics
- Complements 补语: An OverviewHSK 2 — A complement 补语 follows the verb to specify the result, direction, degree, or possibility of an action — the slot Mandarin uses where English reaches for a second verb, an adverb, or 'can/can't'.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.