State Resultatives 饱/醉/死: How the Doer Ends Up | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

A resultative complement doesn't have to be a verb — it is very often an adjective naming the state the action produces. 洗 (xǐ, "wash") plus 干净 (gānjìng, "clean") gives 洗干净 (wash until clean); 弄 (nòng, "handle") plus 坏 (huài, "bad/broken") gives 弄坏 (handle until broken, i.e. break it). The twist that surprises English speakers most is that this state frequently lands not on an object but on the doer: 吃饱 (chī bǎo) is "eat until I'm full," 喝醉 (hē zuì) is "drink until I'm drunk." English reaches for "get/become + adjective" here; Chinese simply welds the adjective onto the verb.

An adjective can name the result

The formula is verb + adjective, fused as one unit, where the adjective is the outcome. The verb is the action; the adjective is the condition it reaches.

Verb + Adj	Pinyin	Meaning	Result falls on
洗干净	xǐ gānjìng	wash (until) clean	the object
说清楚	shuō qīngchu	say (until) clear	the object
弄坏	nòng huài	break, ruin	the object
吃饱	chī bǎo	eat one's fill	the doer
喝醉	hē zuì	get drunk	the doer
累死	lèi sǐ	be worn out	the doer
气死	qì sǐ	be furious	the doer

请把手洗干净再吃饭。

qǐng bǎ shǒu xǐ gānjìng zài chīfàn

Wash your hands clean before you eat. (informal) — 干净 is the state 洗 produces on 手.

这件事你能不能说清楚一点儿？

zhè jiàn shì nǐ néng bù néng shuō qīngchu yìdiǎnr?

Can you explain this a bit more clearly? (informal) — 说清楚 = talk until it's clear.

弟弟把我的手机弄坏了。

dìdi bǎ wǒ de shǒujī nòng huài le

My little brother broke my phone. (informal) — 弄坏 = handled it into a broken state.

When the result lands on the doer

This is the class the page is named for. With 吃饱, 喝醉, 累死 the adjective describes the subject's own condition after the action. There's no separate object being changed — you are the one who ends up full, drunk, or exhausted. It's the most natural way to report how an activity left you.

我吃饱了，真的吃不下了。

wǒ chī bǎo le, zhēn de chī bu xià le

I'm full — I really can't eat any more. (informal) — 吃饱 = I reached the state of full.

他昨晚喝醉了，什么都不记得。

tā zuówǎn hē zuì le, shénme dōu bú jìde

He got drunk last night and doesn't remember a thing. (informal) — 喝醉 = drank into drunkenness.

走了一天的路，我快累死了。

zǒu le yì tiān de lù, wǒ kuài lèi sǐ le

After walking all day, I'm about to drop. (informal) — 累死 = worn to the state of 'dead tired'.

💡

Ask "who ends up in this state?" With 洗干净 it's the object (the hands get clean); with 吃饱 it's the doer (you get full). Same verb-plus-adjective machinery, but the state can attach to either — English forces you to choose "wash it clean" vs "get full," while Chinese uses one pattern for both.

死 and 坏 as hyperbolic intensifiers

Two adjectives have drifted into pure intensifiers. 死 (sǐ, literally "to death") and 坏 (huài, literally "bad") tacked onto a state word mean "extremely," with a vivid, emotional colour — 饿死了 isn't "starved to death," it's "starving," and 高兴坏了 is "over the moon." They're everyday, informal, and slightly hyperbolic.

快点儿，我快饿死了！

kuài diǎnr, wǒ kuài è sǐ le!

Hurry up, I'm starving! (informal) — 饿死 = extremely hungry, not literally dying.

你别再迟到了，真是气死我了！

nǐ bié zài chídào le, zhēnshì qì sǐ wǒ le!

Stop being late — you're driving me up the wall! (informal) — 气死 = furious to the extreme.

收到录取通知，孩子高兴坏了。

shōudào lùqǔ tōngzhī, háizi gāoxìng huài le

When the acceptance letter came, the kid was over the moon. (informal) — 高兴坏 = overjoyed.

Negate a state resultative with 没, as always: 没吃饱 = "didn't eat enough / still hungry," 没洗干净 = "didn't get it clean." See the 没 negation page for the full pattern.

就吃了半碗饭，我根本没吃饱。

jiù chī le bàn wǎn fàn, wǒ gēnběn méi chī bǎo

I only had half a bowl — I didn't get anywhere near full. (informal) — 没吃饱 = the 'full' state wasn't reached.

Common Mistakes

1. Inserting 得 for the plain result. V + 得 + Adj is a different structure — the potential or the degree complement. 我吃得饱 means "I'm able to eat my fill," not "I'm full."

❌ 我吃得饱了，不用再点了。

Wrong meaning — 吃得饱 is the potential 'can eat my fill'; the state 'I'm full' is 吃饱了.

✅ 我吃饱了，不用再点了。

wǒ chī bǎo le, bú yòng zài diǎn le

I'm full, no need to order more. (informal) — bare 吃饱 for the reached state.

2. Negating with 不 instead of 没. A state that wasn't reached is 没, not 不.

❌ 我不吃饱。

Incorrect — reads like a refusal to eat one's fill; 'I'm not full' is 没吃饱.

✅ 我没吃饱。

wǒ méi chī bǎo

I'm not full / I didn't eat enough. (informal) — 没 for the unreached state.

3. Taking 死 and 坏 literally. In 饿死了 / 高兴坏了 they're intensifiers ("extremely"), not real death or damage.

❌ 我饿死了，所以去医院了。

Wrong reading — 饿死了 means 'starving', not that hunger sent you to hospital.

✅ 我饿死了，咱们快去吃饭吧。

wǒ è sǐ le, zánmen kuài qù chīfàn ba

I'm starving — let's go eat right now. (informal) — 饿死了 = extremely hungry.

4. Splitting the pair with the object. The verb and its adjective-result stay welded; the object comes before via 把, or after the pair.

❌ 他弄手机坏了。

Incorrect — 手机 can't sit between 弄 and 坏; front it with 把 or place it after the fused pair.

✅ 他把手机弄坏了。

tā bǎ shǒujī nòng huài le

He broke the phone. (informal) — 弄坏 fused, object fronted with 把.

Key Takeaways

An adjective resultative names the state an action reaches: 洗干净 (clean), 说清楚 (clear), 弄坏 (broken).
The state often lands on the doer, not an object: 吃饱 (full), 喝醉 (drunk), 累死 (exhausted), 气死 (furious).
死 and 坏 work as hyperbolic intensifiers meaning "extremely": 饿死了, 高兴坏了.
Negate with 没 (没吃饱, 没洗干净) — never 不.
Don't slip in 得: 吃饱 (reached the state) ≠ 吃得饱 (able to), which is the degree/potential pattern.

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