When you want to say not just what someone did but how well or to what degree they did it, Mandarin reaches for the structural particle 得 (de). It clips onto the back of a verb or adjective and hands off to a complement — a phrase that evaluates the action: 跑得快 (runs fast), 说得很好 (speaks very well), 高兴得跳起来 (so happy [he] jumped up). This page treats 得 purely as the structural particle that opens the complement slot; for the full range of degree and manner complements, see the degree & manner complement overview. The one thing to burn in from the start: this 得 is written 得 — never 的, never 地 — and it always sits between the verb and the evaluation of it.
The 得 slot: after the verb, before the evaluation
The pattern is rigid and easy to see once you know where to look: verb (or adjective) + 得 + complement. Nothing separates the verb from 得, and the complement — the "how" part — comes right after. English scatters this information around with adverbs ("he speaks Chinese well"); Chinese packages it into one tidy after-the-verb slot.
| Verb / Adj |
| Complement | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 说 (speak) | 得 | 很好 | speaks very well |
| 跑 (run) | 得 | 快 | runs fast |
| 来 (come) | 得 | 很早 | comes very early |
| 高兴 (happy) | 得 | 跳起来 | so happy as to jump up |
你中文说得真好！
nǐ Zhōngwén shuō de zhēn hǎo!
Your Chinese is really good! (informal) — the everyday way to compliment someone's skill: verb 说 + 得 + evaluation 真好.
老师今天讲得特别清楚。
lǎoshī jīntiān jiǎng de tèbié qīngchu
The teacher explained especially clearly today. (neutral) — 得 links 讲 to how well it was done.
The complement usually needs its own 很
Here is the trap that surprises English speakers: a bare adjective after 得 does not sound neutral. 他跑得快 hints at a contrast — "he runs fast (unlike someone else)." To make a plain, unmarked statement you add 很, exactly as a predicate adjective needs 很 (他很高 "he's tall"). The 很 here is a grammatical filler more than an intensifier.
他跑得很快，我追不上。
tā pǎo de hěn kuài, wǒ zhuī bu shàng
He runs fast, I can't catch up. (informal) — 很 makes 跑得快 a neutral statement rather than a comparison.
你今天来得很早啊！
nǐ jīntiān lái de hěn zǎo a!
You came really early today! (informal) — the complement 早 takes 很 like any predicate adjective.
这家饭馆的菜做得很地道。
zhè jiā fànguǎn de cài zuò de hěn dìdao
This restaurant's dishes are cooked very authentically. (neutral) — 做 + 得 + 很地道.
When there's an object, copy the verb
The 得 grips a bare verb, so a direct object gets in the way. You cannot say *他说汉语得很好. Mandarin's fix is to state the verb twice: once with its object, then again — this time carrying 得 and the complement. Alternatively, promote the object to a topic at the front and use the verb only once. Both are completely idiomatic; the verb-copy version is covered in depth on the verb-copying page.
他说汉语说得很流利。
tā shuō Hànyǔ shuō de hěn liúlì
He speaks Chinese very fluently. (neutral) — verb 说 is repeated: first with 汉语, then with 得很流利.
他汉语说得很流利。
tā Hànyǔ shuō de hěn liúlì
He speaks Chinese very fluently. (neutral) — same meaning, object 汉语 fronted, verb said once.
我妹妹唱歌唱得非常好听。
wǒ mèimei chànggē chàng de fēicháng hǎotīng
My little sister sings beautifully. (informal) — 唱歌 then 唱得非常好听; the verb 唱 is copied.
Negation goes in the complement, not before the verb
Because 得 introduces an evaluation, the negative 不 attaches to that evaluation — inside the complement — not to the verb. You did speak; the point is it wasn't done well. So the pattern is verb + 得 + 不 + adjective.
昨天晚上我睡得不好。
zuótiān wǎnshang wǒ shuì de bù hǎo
I slept badly last night. (informal) — 不 sits in the complement (睡得不好), never before 睡.
这次考试他考得不太理想。
zhè cì kǎoshì tā kǎo de bú tài lǐxiǎng
He didn't do too well on this exam. (neutral) — 不太理想 is the negated evaluation of 考.
他汉字写得不怎么好看。
tā Hànzì xiě de bù zěnme hǎokàn
His handwriting isn't all that nice. (informal) — 不怎么好看 negates how the writing looks, with the verb 写 copied after 汉字.
Adjectives can head this construction too, describing a state carried to an extreme — the "extent" reading. Here the complement often becomes a whole little clause:
大家笑得肚子都疼了。
dàjiā xiào de dùzi dōu téng le
Everyone laughed so hard their stomachs hurt. (informal) — 笑 + 得 + the extent 肚子都疼了.
她高兴得跳了起来。
tā gāoxìng de tiào le qǐlai
She was so happy she jumped up. (neutral) — adjective 高兴 + 得 + the resulting action.
Common Mistakes
1. Writing 的 or 地 for 得. All three are pronounced de, but only 得 introduces a post-verbal complement. This is the single most common written error — see choosing 的 / 得 / 地.
❌ 他跑的很快。
Incorrect — after a verb, an evaluation needs 得, not 的.
✅ 他跑得很快。
tā pǎo de hěn kuài
He runs fast. — 得 opens the complement 很快.
2. Putting the degree word before the verb. The evaluation, 很 included, belongs inside the complement, after 得 — not stacked in front of the verb like an English adverb.
❌ 他很说得好。
Incorrect — 很 belongs in the complement after 得, not before the verb.
✅ 他说得很好。
tā shuō de hěn hǎo
He speaks very well. — 很好 is the complement.
3. Attaching 得 to a verb that still has its object. 得 needs a bare verb; copy the verb or front the object.
❌ 他说汉语得很好。
Incorrect — 得 can't follow the object 汉语; 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 verb 说 is copied before 得.
4. Negating in front of the verb. The 不 negates the evaluation, so it lives in the complement.
❌ 我昨天不睡得好。
Incorrect — the negation goes in the complement: 睡得不好.
✅ 我昨天睡得不好。
wǒ zuótiān shuì de bù hǎo
I slept badly yesterday. — 不 sits inside the complement.
Key Takeaways
- 得 is the structural particle that opens a complement: verb/adj + 得 + evaluation (说得好, 跑得快, 高兴得跳起来).
- A bare adjective complement sounds contrastive; add 很 for a neutral statement: 跑得很快.
- With an object, copy the verb (说汉语说得很好) or front the object (汉语说得很好); 得 only follows a bare verb.
- Negate inside the complement with 不 (睡得不好), never before the verb.
- It is written 得 — distinct from attributive 的 (before a noun) and adverbial 地 (before a verb).
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- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- Verb-Copying with a 得 ComplementHSK 3 — When a verb has BOTH an object AND a 得 (de) complement, Chinese forces you to say the verb twice: 他说汉语说得很流利 (copy 说) — or front the object as a topic: 他汉语说得很流利. What you can never do is *他说汉语得很流利.
- The Three de's: 的 / 得 / 地 (Overview)HSK 2 — Chinese has three structural particles all pronounced de but written differently and doing different jobs: 的 joins a modifier to a noun (我的书), 得 links a verb or adjective to a complement (说得好), and 地 turns a modifier into a manner adverb before a verb (慢慢地走) — one sound, three characters, three jobs.